Valerie
by davewriter
Summary: Some unattached male members of Bulletproof's team of C.O.P.S. compete for the affections of a divorced mother. But they're not the only ones who want her. Rated for violence, language and steamy love scenes, but NO explicit stuff!
1. Valerie Boston Needs Out

**Author's Note**: Hello, everyone, this is my second C.O.P.S. fanfic project. This one has been dancing in my head for quite awhile now, so I decided to quit procrastinating and get on it.

The last time I started this, I posted this on a Monday night, and it still hadn't shown up in the C.O.P.S. sub-category in the cartoon section. So I'm re-posting this chapter in hopes it will show up quicker than four days. (LOL) **WARNING:** This is a romantic fic containing violence, strong language and some steamy love scenes, but _NO NC-17 stuff_. This is a romantic drama, NOT pornography. (I don't do that kind of crap!) May contain some controversial themes and decision-making, so if you want to debate, don't do it in the reviews, that's not what they're there for, instead leave me an e-mail, my address is in my bio. Please read, review and enjoy.

**Disclaimer**: I claim no ownership of the cartoon C.O.P.S. or any of the series' syndicated characters. The only characters in here that are mine are my heroine, Valerie Boston, and her family, including her son, Jeremy, her (unfortunately) husband, Tom (who makes Jonathan from the Amazing Race look like a sweetheart... LOL), as well as lawyer Janet Lisbon.

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**Valerie**

Chapter 1

The doting mother Valerie Boston had packed up her whole life and moved out of her nightmarish home in Parrish, Indiana. She had come home from grocery shopping to a horrific scene in the living room. Her husband was belting their ten-year-old son, Jeremy, severely, the boy bent over in a praying position, crying and screaming. He wasn't drunk like he usually was when he was beating him. But he was certainly loud, angry and vicious. Calling Jeremy stupid and worthless, and how could he screw up the way he did, every third word being a curse. Except Valerie didn't know what Jeremy did.

She didn't know what Jeremy _ever _did. She _knew_ the boy was almost a saint.

She threw down her bags and ran over to rescue her son. When the leather end of the belt flew her way, she grabbed it and tried to wrestle it out of the man's hand. She screamed, "Tom, stop it! Give me that goddamn belt!"

"Valerie, don't you _dare_ come to his defense!" Tom screamed back at her. He picked up Jeremy's latest report card on the coffee table and showed it to her. F's in Math, French and Science, a D in Social Studies, and B's and C's in everything else except Art, which he got an A. "I am sick and fucking tired of this bullshit from him. I'm only getting him to smarten the hell up!"

"Well, you can see why he's this way, right!" Valerie yelled. "It's because you were shaking him when he was a baby, you bastard! You _know_ he has permanent learning disabilities because of that! The doctor said he'll have to drop Science when he gets to middle school, and Math when he gets to high school. And he can't take History come high school, either! But you don't give a shit about any of it, do you!"

The parents were wrestling over the belt again. During the struggle, Valerie called at Jeremy, "Run, Jeremy! Run to your room, shut the door and lock it!" Jeremy ran as he was told, hobbling quickly. Tom gave her a sharp glare and went to the kitchen. Seconds later, he came back out, drunker and meaner than ever. He shoved her onto the couch and began belting her like he did Jeremy.

"You lousy, stupid, lazy little BITCH!" Tom screamed at her. "You're always molly-coddling and spoon-feeding that boy! No wonder our neighbors don't come around! You're always using his disability as a fucking excuse for his actions! Everyone thinks you're a horrible parent! Sometimes I think _you_ need boot camp just as much as he does!"

"No!" she whispered angrily. "It's _you_ who's the horrible parent! You're always drinking and beating the fuck out of that boy whenever you feel like it! You can't do that, you _know_ it! _You_ were the one who was shaking him when he was baby, Tom! You! And why? Because you never wanted to have a child in the first place!"

She knew that was exactly the reason why. When Tom and Valerie first got married, he told her flatly that he didn't want any children, even though she was anxious to have one. She agreed for the first two years, then started having unprotected sex with him, hoping he would change his mind. She was poking holes in all his condoms, throwing out the birth control pills he gave her, spreading her legs and begging in a sexual manner. Finally, she took him, and after only twelve minutes, managed to get pregnant. She was two months along when she first found out, it was close to Christmas. She was so excited, she told her husband as an early gift. But as soon as she told him, he became furious.

"Get an abortion!" he demanded. "I _told_ you I didn't want any children!"

She was almost tearful. "But I told you that I wanted to start a family," she pleaded

"Valerie, dammit!" he screamed. "I've been running my father's men's recreation business for five years now! Sporting goods, sports clothing, tools galore! I have clientele flocking here from all over the goddamn state, for fuck's sake! I'm ready to open more stores statewide, maybe even nationwide. Do you have any idea what a baby will _do _to all that! What the hell are you trying to do, ruin me?"

"That's not fair!" she cried. "You know my two sisters already have two kids each. I want to tell my parents; they're going to be so excited!"

"They don't understand my ambitions!" he yelled. "They want me to keep my business local so I can be a parent! I have dreams, Valerie! And parenthood is only going to get in the way of them."

She was forming tears now. "I'm not getting rid of it." With that, he went to their bedroom, packed his suitcases and left the house.

She didn't know where he was going to live. He stayed away until a month after she gave birth, forcing her to go through the pregnancy alone. When he came back, she introduced him to their baby son. But he immediately took the boy and threw him down on the floor.

"Valerie, you stupid headstrong bitch!" he said through clenched teeth. "You really don't get the 'obey' part of 'to love, honor and obey,' do you? Now you're going to give that baby up for adoption. You're not ruining my dreams for my business to go big!"

"Is that all you care about, business and money!" she squealed.

"My business keeps this roof over our heads, food in our stomachs, clothes on our damn backs! You may have a good career, but _I'm_ the one who pays the bills here, not you." She wouldn't give in, and he started to leave again. But she wouldn't let him go.

"You are going to stay here and be a father to that boy!" she insisted. "Jeremy's not going to grow up without a father. I'll be damned if that happens!"

She meant what she said, and he stubbornly gave in. He picked up baby Jeremy and threw him back down in his crib. Jeremy was crying louder than ever. His mother was more than horrified, but she was hoping he'd straighten up and be a father she knew he could be.

But Valerie knew he wouldn't. Tom spent many hours of the day at his job, and he was nothing but cruel at home. Whenever Jeremy came up to him wanting to play, Tom would just shove him away just so he could drink. (He'd started drinking while he was away from the home.) Every time he heard him cry, Tom would make him be quiet by shaking and slapping him, often severely. He wouldn't let Valerie do anything to stop him. By the time Jeremy was two years old, he had been shaken so much, he had developed moderate brain damage. His mother believed the boy was lucky enough. And yet, Jeremy kept getting regular beatings whether or not he misbehaved.

As a result, while he could develop excellent social skills, he was very slow at certain school subjects. Tom would never do anything to help him with his studies, just yell and beat him whenever he came home with a poorly-graded Math and Science test. Right from kindergarten, Jeremy had been barely passing every grade level, only with C averages. Valerie felt helpless about this; she knew his brain damage was the cause for her son's poor academic performance. But Tom only believed it was just a, "stupid excuse," and he always said the same thing: "You're not pushing him hard enough!"

Over and over, she begged him to get help for his anger, but he stubbornly refused. He said the same thing every time: "There ain't nothing wrong with me! I'm just doing what fathers _should_ do to their sons!" The Boston family became very popular with social services and the family court system, not in a good way, though. Jeremy was removed from the home six times since he was three. And Tom had taken this to family court every time. The judges had always ordered that Jeremy return to his parents because they believed, "a good beating is good for the child, regardless of whether or not they're disabled." Valerie felt defeated, the authorities thinking of her as an unfit mother.

All this time, Valerie stayed around because she wanted Jeremy to have a father. And she loved him so much, she couldn't picture life without him – or she thought she did. Now she knew she must leave the state, and Tom. But she wondered how she would fare as a single mother of a special needs child.

She got up from the couch, took the belt and starting belting his chest.

"Ow, stop it!" he yelled. "What the fuck are you _doing_?"

"Hurting you the way you hurt us!" Valerie retorted. She whacked him hard ten more times, then threw the belt against the living room wall. "Enough! No more! I'm leaving you and I'm taking my son with me. My son! Not yours, mine! And I can find a father for him. Someone who will give him affectionate love! Someone who'll love him just as he loves me!"

She turned away from him, as if he was some hideous mutant fish. "You don't love me! You never even wanted this family! All you care about is your business and your material wealth! Well, you can have it! You've lost us! And believe me, we'll be going somewhere to improve ourselves. I don't know where, but I hope you never find out!"

Tom pushed past her, en route to their bedroom. Ten minutes later, he came out with a small bag packed. He walked out of the house, stomping, slamming the door. Valerie watched him at the window, getting into his truck and driving off. _Three days, maybe a week, _she thought. _Maybe then, he'll cool off._ But she didn't care if he cooled off or not; she was determined to get her son out of the house before he got home.

She went to Jeremy's bedroom and knocked on the door. He unlocked and opened it. She bent down to his eye level.

"Honey, your father's gone now," she said happily, yet solemnly. He'll be gone all evening, and perhaps all night. I don't know when he's coming home, really. But after dinner, you and I are going to pack as many things as we can and find somewhere else to live for a while. Once everything is in order, we'll move to a different city."

Valerie ordered two three-piece chicken meals to be delivered. The tab came to $10.49. She decided to use her husband's money. She wondered if she should take as much as she can with her. Make him literally pay for all the hell he caused.

After they ate, she went to the laundry room for four suitcases. She gave two to Jeremy, and some boxes for toys and books, and said, "Pack as many things as you can, and I'll check up on you in two hours. We have to leave quickly, okay?"

"Okay, Mom," he said. He took the bags and boxes, and went to his room.

Valerie took the other two suitcases to the master bedroom. She opened her closet and packed all she kept in there, her nightgowns, her sweaters, her dresses and blouses, in the first suitcase. She opened her dresser drawers for her shirts, pants, underwear, bras and socks. She took her whole jewelry box and put it gently in the second suitcase. She finished her packing with the three romance books she owned, then took her bags to the front door.

She went to Jeremy's room to find both his suitcases filled with clothes. He was filling his boxes with stuffed animals and toy cars, and books and travel games. She said to him, "This is really good packing, sweetie," then closed both suitcases and put them out with her luggage. When Jeremy had packed enough toys and boxes, she closed them up and took them out with the others.

They were taking everything out to the family's station wagon now. While they were loading it, Jeremy asked, "Where... are we... going to... stay, Mom? Are... we... going to... come home?" He was speaking clearly, but at a slow rate.

Valerie stopped, looked right at her son and shook her head. "No, we're not coming back here," she answered. "Not as long as your father still lives here. First, we'll be stopping at the police station to put a restraining order on your father, then we'll rent a hotel room for a while." She squatted to his eye level. "Jeremy, I'm going to divorce your father."

Wordlessly, they went back to the house for the rest of their things. When everything was loaded into the vehicle, they drove off to the police station. There, they went to the police chief's office to file a restraining order against Thomas James Boston.

"We fight a lot about our son, Jeremy," she told the chief. "He verbally assaults me, and physically on occasion, for trying to protect him, but I feel I have to. He has drinking and anger problems he won't admit to, and he smacks Jeremy around for doing poorly at school and stupid little things, drunk or not. I know normally you would dismiss that last part as old-fashioned discipline, but Jeremy has mental disabilities, and I don't think he's ever going to know any better." She was almost crying, but tried fighting these feelings.

"Mental and learning disabilities," the chief repeated, looking alarmed, studying what he wrote. "Mrs. Boston, was Jeremy ever shaken as a baby?"

"A lot," Valerie answered. "Whenever we heard Jeremy crying, I had to get up and follow Tom just to see what he would do. Sure enough, he wouldn't hesitate to shake Jeremy rapidly. He would only do it for a minute, but sometimes I couldn't stop him."

Shocked, the chief replied, "Shaken excessively? Mrs. Boston, you should consider yourself grateful Jeremy is still alive. Normally, children who were shaken as much as your son would be in one of those little coffins six feet under. All of your husband's actions toward him go far beyond 'old-fashioned discipline.' I think we have enough evidence to file that order against him."

She nodded, smiling. "Thank you, sir. I haven't felt this happy my whole marriage."

"We'll get the order out first thing in the morning."

"Thank you again. I'll call you as soon as I have a place to stay." She shook the chief's hand, took her son and left the station.

Next, they drove to the Best Western Inn to see about renting a room. Valerie had no family members living in town, she was worried about Tom tracking her down and getting her at friends' houses, and she didn't want to go to a shelter. She told this to the people at the registration desk. When she was asked about shelters, she replied, "I don't want my son and me to be sleeping on the small, uncomfortable cots, being served unappetizing meals as if we're homeless. That wouldn't be in Jeremy's best interest… or mine."

The clerk made her wait while she went into the back to talk to her boss. Minutes later, she came back out with a special residence form attached to a clipboard. "Ma'am, I'm going to have you just fill out this form and return it to me," she said.

Valerie filled it out promptly, her personal information, and special information about Jeremy. Under "Reason for Residence," she wrote, _Hiding out from husband, Thomas James Boston, filed restraining order, security required._ She attached a recent photograph she had of Tom, so the staff could recognize him and turn him away.

Under "Length of Residence": _Length of divorce proceedings; will be requesting quick process._

When she was finished, she handed the clipboard back to the registration clerk. She smiled at her and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Boston. I'll go run this by the owner." She went to the back and, a few minutes later, came back to give Valerie her room key. They had Room 213, and the registration clerk said, "I'll have your personalized name plate ready for you in about an hour."

Valerie and Jeremy went up to their room and looked around in it. Two single beds separated by a night-table with a cherry oak finish. Across from the beds were a color TV with a remote and small movie guide on top, and a small table next to it with two chairs. Beside the TV was a dresser with six drawers. Valerie frowned. It wasn't enough to hold every clothing item they took, especially when there was no closet space.

"I guess we'll have to leave some of our things in our bags," she told Jeremy. "You can have the three bottom drawers. I want you to put all your underwear, socks and pants in the very bottom drawer. Jeans and t-shirts go in your middle one, and everything else in your top one." He nodded, and while he was unpacking, Valerie called the police headquarters to confirm her location, to help complete the restraining order.

"Excellent," the chief said. "We'll get the order out first thing in the morning."

First thing the next morning, she called Janet Lisbon, their family lawyer.

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At her appointment three days later, Valerie fought every urge to cry as she told Janet about her latest fight with Tom, including the fight over his belt and the restraining order. Janet was taking notes and looking sympathetic. 

"Valerie, it seems you have a very good case," she said. "All this belting because Jeremy has learning problems beyond his control. Child cruelty doesn't even begin to describe it. I'm more than confident that the judge will grant you sole custody of the boy."

Valerie sighed relievingly. "Well, it's good to know some good will come out of this. But I really need to get out of this town as soon as possible. Move to another small town or a larger city, where Tom won't track me or Jeremy down. I know I can only stay at the Best Western for so long."

Janet frowned. "It's that bad, is it? Well, you won't have to worry. I'm sure with all this going on over this single issue, we can get this case resolved in two months, tops. Unless there's something else, like adultery issues. You say Tom runs his own business. Do you think he may be having an affair with a female employee, or maybe a longtime female client?"

"No," Valerie answered. "He had left me while I was pregnant, and told me that he'd been sleeping with a younger woman while he was gone. But that was a long time ago, and we've pretty much forgotten her. Sometimes, when he was working late into the morning, or gone for days on business trips, I'd ask if he'd been sleeping with anyone from work. He'd always assure me that he would never cheat on me, despite our problems." She started to sniffle, and immediately grabbed some tissues. "Those were the only times he was ever nice to me."

"It's going to be all right, Valerie," Janet assured. "The important is that it's all going to come out in your favor."

Valerie stopped sobbing. "Thank you."

"No problem. And, thinking about Jeremy again, I'll need the phone number of his elementary school. I'll need to set up a meeting with his principal and guidance counselor, and all his teachers, former and current. I'll want evidence that his problems are largely due to his incurable brain damage, so we can use it against Tom. In fact, I'll probably need some of them to testify in court."

"That would be wonderful. And maybe get a hold of the local child protection agency, too, to see if we can track down that social worker who dealt with us years ago. I think maybe we'll need her help, too."

"I'll see what I can do," Janet replied. Valerie got up and shook her hand. "Thank you, Valerie, and I'll have the documents ready for you to sign in about a week or so."

"You're welcome, Janet, and thanks," Valerie replied. "See you." She left the office.

Over the next week, Valerie had been calling friends and family to inform them of the divorce. She also requested that they help her with the finances to finalize it. Not only did they agree, they were also thrilled with what was happening."

"I always knew Tom would change once you gave birth to Jeremy," her mother, Polly, said over a hissing connection from Empire City. "I'm glad you're finally leaving that asshole. If only you'd done it sooner…"

"Mother, please, I feel guilty enough," Valerie began.

"Valerie, anyone but Tom would've made a better father to that boy and you know it. I'm not buying that cover-up, young lady. Your sister, Karen, has told you that if you'd moved here to Empire City years ago, and into their neighborhood, she and her husband would look after Jeremy for you when you can't. Bart always said he'd be a better man for Jeremy than Tom ever would."

"Yes, I know, you're right. It's just that I was worried about depriving Jeremy of a chance to know his real father. I have friends and co-workers whose sons are in that category. Most of them are acting out of control and disrespectful, to their mothers and their 'fake' fathers, I've heard. I didn't want that for my son."

"Valerie," Polly said firmly, "a caring fake father is much better than an abusive real one."

It was a lot for her to think about. She knew her mother was right. Maybe she'd move to Empire City to be closer to her family. But what man would she find there to be a loving father to Jeremy? She knew she was an attractive woman with a sweet son, but who could love them both enough to make them a real family?

Still, she decided to herald Polly's advice. She said, "Mom, please send some literature on Empire City real estate."

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So there you have Chapter 1. Don't worry, the C.O.P.S. and Empire City will be coming soon. I'm currently in the middle of Chapter 2 and will be posting it soon. Enjoy. :>) 


	2. Courtroom Melodrama

**Author's Note:** All right, everyone, here's chapter two. Sorry it took so long, but these courtroom scenes are so difficult to write, especially in single-issue divorce cases like this one. I'm not really all that good at it, so if there are any problems, please let me know in your reviews, and I'll fix it promptly.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own C.O.P.S. or any of its characters. Only Valerie and her family, and the people mentioned in this chapter (ie: Dr. Grenoble, Janet Lisbon, Robert St. George) are mine, as well as the plot of the story. Forgot to mention that last part last time.

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Chapter 2

The weeks that followed were expressively busy for Valerie. She had been making great advances at Lancer and Sussex, the medium-sized advertising agency she worked for. She felt she had to; she announced to the entire firm she had filed for divorce. In fact, she worked so hard, her boss wanted to transfer her to their branch in Empire City with a higher salary when the divorce was finalized.

Her work obligations and finances wouldn't allow her to divide her time between Parrish and Empire City. She called her other sister, Rhonda, a real estate agent, for booklets on available small houses and two-bedroom apartments. When she received them, she would circle anything that looked good to her and ask Rhonda to put it on hold.

The day her divorce trial began, she came face to face with Tom. She had been over to her former home to get the rest of hers and Jeremy's things, but she hadn't seen her husband in a month. He was angry over Jeremy, Valerie guessed. _What makes you think _you're_ the better parent?_ she thought. As he entered the courtroom, he mouthed, "Manipulative bitch," to her. It didn't upset her. She knew Tom wouldn't ever get custody. He wouldn't even get visitation rights.

Yet, it all turned shaky for her when proceedings began. Her husband's lawyer, Robert St. George, gave a dramatic opening statement. "Your honor," he said, "my client is aware that his ten-year-old son is disabled, but knows these children are especially able to misbehave. Despite Jeremy's learning problems, he can learn the difference between wrong and right. Mr. Boston also believes that the boy is capable of learning important school subjects like Math and Science, both of which Jeremy is currently failing. Mr. Boston's beliefs that Jeremy is acting like this out of spite are believable. He says that he only beats his son to keep him from becoming a spoiled brat, and it does not help that Mrs. Boston continually protects him like he's an infant.

"Part of being a parent is being supportive and unified as a couple in disciplinary decisions, which Mrs. Boston does not do with her husband. Seeing that this mother is the least deserving of her parental rights, I ask that you make the right decision and grant sole custody of Jeremy to Mr. Boston."

Both Valerie and Janet were unimpressed. When the judge called for Janet's opening statement, she rose and said boldly, "Your honor, you can hardly call what Mr. Boston does to Jeremy devotional parenting. In fact, from what my client has revealed, Mr. Boston is the most anti-child person she has ever met. It may interest you to know that Mr. Boston never wanted a child at all. He left his wife alone during most of her pregnancy, and has been torturing the child from day one. Mr. Boston even shook Jeremy repeatedly as an infant. This fact alone is a legitimate argument against deciding in Mr. Boston's favor. As anyone in the medical profession will tell you, shaking a baby even once can cause irreversible brain damage, most definitely if you shake it as often as Mr. Boston has. As a result, Jeremy cannot do Math or Science as fast or as well as normal children. It should be no surprise that he is failing." She gave his latest report card to the judge. "In fact, both his principal and their family doctor have told me that he will have to drop both in future grade levels. He is easily distracted in class, but all the teachers know that, in Jeremy's case, this can't be helped.

"Your honor, Jeremy Boston will never learn the difference between wrong and right, because of what happened to him in his early years. All the beatings his father gave will do nothing to improve him. If anything, it will cause him to withdraw from others, question their trust, and push him to the point where he is afraid to go into the outside world. Clearly, Mrs. Boston is the better candidate to award sole custody."

Valerie took the witness stand first. Janet went up to her and asked, "Mrs. Boston, how would your describe the first years of your marriage?"

"They were very good," Valerie answered, smiling casually. "We met in college and married a couple years after we graduated. He was passionate about his family's recreation store, and wanted to just concentrate on that. I'd just started my career, too, but I really wanted a family as well."

"How did your husband react when you first mentioned having a baby?" Janet asked.

"He refused." Valerie wasn't smiling nearly as much now. "He told me his dreams to take his business nationwide. He said that fatherhood would get in the way of all that, and he didn't want to spend any more money on another person. I went along with it for the first three years or so. But after that, I started getting a little desperate. So I went off the pill and stopped with the condoms. I didn't tell him I wanted a baby then, because I was scared about how he'd react. I really was hoping he'd change his mind about it."

"And, of course, he didn't. Tell the court how he reacted when you told him you were pregnant."

Valerie started to get angry and upset, visualizing the past again. She ran her fingers through her long blonde hair. "He angrily told me to get an abortion," she said, "but I just couldn't go through with it. Tom didn't say anything, he just packed as much stuff to last him nine months, and left. I didn't know where he was, he never contacted me. If it weren't for my mother and sister flying in from Empire City, I would've never lasted."

"And when did your husband start acting cruel toward the baby?"

"Immediately after he came back home." Valerie started telling Janet about their first fight about Jeremy, when Tom threw him down on the floor, and again back in his crib, and the repeated shaking that followed after. "He was obviously too pig-headed and ignorant to do anything about the nightly crying!" she cried out. She started to cry now, and said through her wailings, "And I, as his mother, was forced to stand by and watch! Tom wouldn't let me do anything to save Jeremy!"

The judge handed her some tissues, and asked if she would like to take a recess. She shook her head and looked up at Tom. He was shaking his head, like he'd never seen a divorcing woman cry on the witness stand before. Janet waited until she was calm to ask her next question. "Mrs. Boston, please tell the court how the abuse worsened as Jeremy grew older."

"Jeremy would be wandering around the house, touching things and looking at them," Valerie explained. "But every time Tom caught him, he would put whatever he had back, then drag him to some corner in the house and teach him a lesson through either his hand, his fist, or his belt. Lessons that Jeremy would never ever learn thanks to what Tom did. He was often drunk when he was beating. I'd hear Jeremy screaming and crying, and Tom yelling at him to be quiet. I'd run to them, horrified by what was happening. Whenever I would save him, Tom would get mad at me. He'd say that I wanted to spoil him, and encourage him to murder. Sometimes, he would go further, doing to me what he did to him."

"And how often did you collide with Social Services over the beatings?"

"Very often. In total, we had about twelve warnings and six removals since Jeremy was three years old. Tom fought – often defied – the courts to get him back. But the beatings would just continue from there."

She could probably tell what Janet was going to ask next, so she immediately added, "I would've gotten out years ago, except I've seen what happens to young boys and teenagers who grow in homes without fathers, and stepfathers they have trouble adjusting to. There's no respect in the homes, and the boys turn to drugs and crime and drinking. I saw that from friends and co-workers. I didn't want that for Jeremy, so I stayed. I'd hoped Tom would adjust to fatherhood. I was disappointed by how wrong I was." She feared Janet would put some guilt upon her if she asked.

"Can you tell the court how your husband reacts to Jeremy's academic performance?"

"Whenever he brought home poorly-graded tests, Tom would beat him for not applying himself, drunk or sober," Valerie told her. "Jeremy could never concentrate on his studies very well. I _knew_ this wasn't really all his fault. It's his brain damage that prevents him from concentrating like normal children do. His teachers have told us this repeatedly, but Tom didn't want to hear it. He would say that we were just using it to make excuses, and we weren't pushing him hard enough. I won't tell you what he said to me, but he was very quick to criticize my parenting techniques."

She almost started crying again, but controlled herself. "I don't know how many times I've asked Tom to get counseling for his anger and drinking problems. He always refused. He said he was just doing his job as a father, exercising authority or our son." She took a deep breath to keep from crying. "But I know of no father who would go this far."

"Thank you, Mrs. Boston," Janet said. She turned to the judge. "No further questions."

When St. George cross-examined her, he approached the stand slowly, not looking into Valerie's eyes. "Mrs. Boston, what motivated you to have a baby when your husband didn't want one?" he asked.

"You mean besides my mother egging me on, and fact that both of my sisters were already mothers?" Valerie was laughing suddenly, then stopped. "Actually, I thought a baby would bring us closer, and motivate me to work harder at my career."

"Your thoughts," St. George said. "What about your husband's thoughts? That a baby would cause him to make sacrifices he couldn't afford to make for his career ambitions?"

"He wanted us to be the typical yuppie couple," Valerie said. "Working hard all day at our jobs, shunning children as an inconvenience, and not caring what other parents think. But I thought it would be a waste of our love. I believed that, deep down, he would see how stupid he was about it and change his mind."

"Ah, so you wanted desperately to be a good mother, and create a happy, healthy family unit," St. George said. "Funny, since you have no problem with letting Jeremy do whatever he wants, whenever. According to your husband, you tend to act as if Jeremy is incapable of committing sin."

"He _is_ incapable of learning the difference between wrong and right," she blasted. But he doesn't want to be spoiled. He doesn't ask for anything but love from both his parents."

"C'mon, Mrs. Boston!" he retorted. "All children push their parents for things out of want. Jeremy isn't any different. And do you call disobeying his father and bringing home bad grades 'good behavior?' You seem to defend him a lot on these issues."

"He's never going to know any better. That's one of the consequences when you've been shaken a lot as a baby."

"Is that true? Or are you just making excuses now, to express your fears of giving him a good spanking once in a while?"

"Objection, your honor!" Janet declared. "He's badgering the witness."

"I'll allow the question," the judge replied, and looked at Valerie for her answer.

"It's the truth," Valerie answered defiantly. "Look, I don't have to bring up the effects of shaken baby syndrome, now do I? I'll leave that to my doctor. My point is, Jeremy will never learn wrong from right because of what Tom did. How many times do I have to say that to people before they understand? But all Tom wants to think about is the money he could've had if we never had Jeremy. Business and money, that's all he ever cared about – certainly not what I might want."

St. George turned to the judge. "No further questions." Valerie was allowed to step down, and she did. She noticed Tom glaring very hard at her. She had made him look awful. He deserved it, too, she knew.

When Tom took the stand, he told St. George about Jeremy's behavioural problems at home. "He rarely does what he's told," he said, "he doesn't mind his own business, and he doesn't understand anything the first time I tell him. He never listens to me and completely defies my authority. And speaking of which, it would sure help if Valerie had some of her own."

"Do you believe that Mrs. Boston is spineless when it comes to her son?" St. George asked.

"_Spineless_?" Tom repeated exasperatedly. "That's not even the word for it! She's so irresponsible when it comes to Jeremy. She always feels the need to stay patient with him whenever he acts out. We have other people in the neighborhood who are strict disciplinarians, all saying Valerie is a horrible mother. I mean, Jesus, the boy's got that woman wrapped around his goddamn finger. She's so fucking clueless!"

"Mr. Boston, will you please watch language in my courtroom!" the judge barked.

"Sorry, your honor," Tom replied. "I'll try not to let it happen again."

Meanwhile, Valerie and Janet were disgusted. They huddled together, and Valerie whispered, "Do you believe what that bastard is saying?"

"Absolutely not," Janet whispered back. "He shows no remorse for his actions and doesn't care about Jeremy's fragility. He's digging himself a deeper hole here."

Valerie agreed. If Tom was defending his actions as means of exercising authority, then she could only conclude that authority was dangerous. She decided to not listen to the rest of the interrogation between him and St. George. She thought about living in Empire City instead. Despite her transfer, would she be able to raise him on her own? She could live with her mother, but what if something happened to her? And both Rhonda and Karen had their own kids to raise.

She'd have to get a man, eventually. Someone who could love both her and her son. Someone who wouldn't be afraid of Jeremy's conditions, and accept him for who and what he is. Someone who would want to be a part of their family. But who?

Valerie stopped thinking about it when Janet cross-examined Tom. _This'll be good, Tom being put in his place_, she thought. She listened intently.

"Mr. Boston, how do you even justify leaving your wife when she was pregnant? And all because you didn't want a baby?" Janet asked. Her tone was forceful, angered.

"Well, obviously, you're not aware of how much it costs to raise a kid to college age!" Tom remarked. "All the money my father and I have been investing in our family business, now put towards another mouth and body. Do you have any idea how upset Dad was when I told him Valerie was pregnant? All his dreams of franchises all over the country, up in smoke. We were going to be featured on the covers of entrepreneurial magazines, but Valerie ruined it all."

"And for that reason, you feel you must take it out on your own child!"

"Why not? When I decided to take over Dad's business, I had all the expansions mapped out in my mind. Expansions like the ones I was planning don't come cheap. And neither does child-raising. So I decided that I didn't want that getting in the way."

Janet was very annoyed. "Mr. Boston, we're talking about a child that you spent ten years abusing! What were you thinking when you were shaking him?"

"How I never wanted him!" he blasted back. "How I'll forever be known as a one-store proprietor in the small city of Parrish because of my _loving_ wife's selfishness."

"No!" Janet remarked, "You're the one who's selfish! Mrs. Boston's descriptions of you were true. All you think about is money, business, material wealth and greed. You make Scrooge look like Santa Claus."

She'd wanted to ask Tom about his cruel treatment toward Jeremy concerning his education, but decided not to. "I take school and education very seriously," he'd told St. George. "Valerie obviously doesn't, or else she'd back me up in pushing him to do his best. Instead, she uses his mental disabilities as an excuse to let him fail. Just like she always does." Janet believed she'd get more arrogance from him. She turned to the judge and declared, "No further questions."

The judge told Tom to step down. Valerie studied the judge's face. It looked so cold and bitter toward Tom. She took this as another sign of her impending victory.

* * *

As the trial went on, many more people who knew of Jeremy's problems testified, including Susan Grenoble, the Boston's family doctor and specialist; and Mrs. Claire Florence, the principal at Jeremy's school, Rysher Elementary and Middle School. 

Dr. Grenoble testified first. Janet asked her, "Besides brain damage and learning disabilities, what other symptoms of shaken baby syndrome does Jeremy Boston have?"

"Not very much," Dr. Grenoble answered. "Working with Jeremy, I discovered that he tends to speak very slowly, although he speaks perfectly good English. He's only partially blind; he's been wearing glasses since the age of four. He has hearing loss in one ear, although he can understand what Mrs. Boston tells him. He also tends to move his head around quite a bit, due to really weak neck muscles. As well, he has an infrequent saliva problem."

"Anything else? How would you rate his coordination?"

"Mrs. Boston said he couldn't walk without falling down a lot at first," Dr. Grenoble said. "But I see that has improved over the years. In my opinion, Jeremy Boston is a miracle child."

"How would rate Mr. Boston as a parent?"

"Very low, I'm afraid. As you established earlier, it was him that made Jeremy this way to begin with. Mrs. Boston has said it was purely intentional. It doesn't help that Mr. Boston smacks the boy around whenever the mood strikes him. I've told him about special child-rearing techniques with Jeremy, and to support Mrs. Boston's methods. But he doesn't want to hear this. I've heard him make the old, 'you're just making excuses' accusation more times than I care to hear."

"What do you think would happen if Jeremy stayed with his father?"

"He probably won't live to see his twelfth birthday. I think it would be in his best interest if he was with his mother."

When St. George cross-examined her, he asked, "Dr. Grenoble, what is your take on proper discipline measures when it comes to special needs children?"

"We like to encourage parents to stay calm and avoid frustrations when it comes to raising children like Jeremy," Dr. Grenoble answered. "We especially discourage using corporal punishment, such as spanking. Studies have shown that such measures can build stress upon them. The same is true of children with Tourette's Syndrome."

"So what you're saying is that you encourage everyone to put special needs children above normal children," St. George assumed. "To make them feel as if they're more special than they really are, is that true?"

"Well, raising a child with disabilities isn't like raising a normal, healthy child," Dr. Grenoble explained. "Having worked with these kinds of families in my career, I can tell you they are willing to do very unpredictable things at unpredictable times. Even when they try to be polite, they're very prone to misbehavior, especially when they're scared, excited or angry."

"I see. And what if a special needs child has normal and healthy siblings? Are the parents supposed to cast the healthy children aside to focus solely on the special needs one?"

Janet rose and called, "Objection, your honor! That question about healthy siblings is completely irrelevant, especially since Mr. and Mrs. Boston have no other children!"

"Your honor, I'm merely making a point that it's wrong for special needs children to be treated differently from others," St. George replied.

"The objection is overruled," the judge declared.

Dr. Grenoble answered, "Favoritism is discouraged in these families. We like to think of caring for a special needs child as a family-oriented task, especially if the children have older siblings who are normal. We encourage the normal siblings to do things like read to the special needs children, and play educational games like flash cards."

"Fine," St. George replied. "And are you aware that special needs children are prone to the same rules and laws as normal children, and must face the same consequences when breaking them?"

"Of course," Dr. Grenoble replied. "I've heard of some special needs children who, in fact, know the law very well. They watch commercials on TV about smoking, drinking and committing crimes, they see the consequences, they understand what to do when they're pressured, and they know not to do those things. Normal children usually need to be told what to do by others. Jeremy understands some things, but I'm afraid that as he grows up, he won't be able to understand the law as much, especially when new things arise, and be confused should he be charged with a crime."

"If Jeremy is unable to understand the law as he gets older, it will be due to a lack of parental guidance on Mrs. Boston's part!" And before Dr. Grenoble could respond, St. George declared, "Nothing further, your honor!"

Valerie was horrified. St. George made her feel like a negligent parent. _Damn that Tom!_ she thought. _He must have put him up to say that. Fucking bastard!_

When Mrs. Florence testified, she talked about Jeremy's performance in school.

"Mrs. Florence," Janet began, "how long have you been active at Rysher Elementary and Middle School?"

"Since it first opened thirty years ago," Mrs. Florence answered. "I was a teacher for fifteen of those years, then a counselor for another twelve. I've been principal since Jeremy was in Grade Three, if that's where you're getting at."

"When Jeremy was first starting school," Janet said, "did you receive anything informing you about his disabilities? A letter from Mr. or Mrs. Boston, perhaps?"

"I did," Mrs. Florence said. "During registration week the year Jeremy started kindergarten, Mrs. Boston sent us a letter informing us of his shaking syndrome." She reached into her sport jacket and showed the letter. Janet gave it to the judge. "We've kept it in his file all this time. In it, she informed us that he may have trouble with things like arithmetic and sciences, as well as some physical attributes, like running. She advised us to be as patient with him as possible."

"And what have you discovered about Jeremy throughout his time at school?" Janet asked.

"Well, his Physical Education teacher has said he trots like a horse when he runs, and can't climb the rope due an excessive fear of heights," Mrs. Florence explained. "And his balancing skills are horrible. He kept falling off the balance beam when he was on. But he likes to play sports like badminton and floor hockey."

"How about academically, Mrs. Florence?"

"He's a very bright student, but has a lot of trouble applying himself. In second grade, when his class was tackling carrying when subtracting, his teacher revealed he was having serious troubles, so we had him take home practice worksheets for a month. He started to get the hang of it after two weeks. He can do simple multiplication and division, but can't solve harder problems like 76,893 divided by 401.

"His attention span for Social Studies is a little higher than that for Science. Science has been hard for him lately. The only time he got high marks was when his class was studying animals last year. Sadly, his performance in that subject has declined, and I'm afraid it won't recover much. As for Social Studies, he's good at things like geography and cultural studies – he's very interested in those things – but I'm afraid he can't do history.

"However, he's a very avid reader. He likes to read the books assigned to him. Last year, he enjoyed _The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe_, answering many of the questions correctly. His class was assigned an analysis project, and his teacher thought it would be too complex for him. So he did a creative writing project centered around the book instead, which earned him an A. He's a very gifted person, I'd say."

"How did you first react when you learned that Jeremy had been shaken as a baby?" Janet asked.

"I was shocked, horrified," Mrs. Florence said. "I'd dealt with children who were differently-abled before, but they all had Tourette's Syndrome and cerebral palsy. I've even had children with polio. But Jeremy was the first Shaken Baby Syndrome case. Even more shocking was that his father caused it. I know I should be seeing where he's coming from with his frustrations, but he's much too selfish a person."

St. George cross-examined her. "Mrs. Florence," he said, "have any of the schoolteachers reported any behavioral problems with Jeremy."

"He's known for nodding off whenever he thinks the class is 'too boring,'" she answered. "He also turns his head around at the most inopportune times, and has an occasional sudden outburst. He's spits on students sometimes, but I'm convinced that part of the saliva problem Dr. Grenoble mentioned. But these are very common in differently-abled children like him. He's not all that difficult a child."

"Really?" St. George asked. "Has he ever been physically violent with classmates?"

"Certainly not," Mrs. Florence replied, looking surprised he'd even asked that. "Older students will attack him at times, and sometimes even younger children tease him. But he doesn't retaliate that much. Sure, he'll scream and curse at the younger ones to frighten them away, but I've never heard anything of him hitting them. He can't defend himself that way."

"What do you do when he has to go to your office after being in trouble?"

"All I do is give him a lecture that what he did was wrong, and make him promise to never do it again. It works about eighty percent of the time. I know that sounds unusual coming from a principal, but Mrs. Boston insists that I remain calm with him. Usually, I request that teachers place him up front so they keep watch over him."

"A simple lecture. No paddle or whip? Don't the teachers criticize you for that?"

"No. They understand that I'm just following the Mrs. Boston's wishes. Some of the stricter teachers have criticized her for this, but they seem to trust her more than they do her husband."

"That sounds very contradictory, Mrs. Florence."

"Excuse me, Mr. St. George, but the teachers have reported that Jeremy comes to school with bruises on his arms and legs, belt marks on his face, and the like. I've seen these firsthand, too, and I can't tell you how sickened I am. I believe Jeremy when he tells me his father does it. The problem is whenever I bring it up with Mrs. Boston, she says she can't leave him because Jeremy needs a father.

"Now there's talk that Jeremy may have to move away soon. It will be very sad to lose him, but I'm happy that Mrs. Boston is taking these necessary steps to get away from that abusive, horrible man!" She was glaring directly at Tom.

Valerie had been sitting quietly. She smiled, but Mrs. Florence was too focused on Tom to notice her. She admired her for presenting the truth.

Several of Jeremy's former homeroom teachers have supported Mrs. Florence's testimony. "I don't know how many times Jeremy has 'mooned' himself to my class," said Ms. Louise Milian, his second-grade homeroom teacher. "But every time, I see his butt cheeks look like tomatoes, bleeding sometimes. Lashes on his chest on stomach, and bruises the size of ink blots on his arms and legs. Thank God Mr. Boston doesn't smoke, I just couldn't picture the cigarette burns. I was afraid to even yell at Jeremy because of this."

But it was the testimony of Mrs. Laura Pershing, Jeremy's current homeroom teacher, that was the most powerful. When she took the witness stand, Janet asked her, "Mrs. Pershing, can you describe what Jeremy is like in your classroom?"

"He can be a handful at times, but then again, so were a lot of the children I've had," Mrs. Pershing said. "He doesn't pay attention at times. He can't seem to keep his desk neat; he thinks nothing of stuffing papers and other things in there. He causes sudden disruptions sometimes, like he has Tourette's. But other than that, he's wonderfully well-behaved."

"How was he doing in your class prior to his latest report card?" Janet asked.

"Objection!" St. George called. "Irrelevant!"

"Your honor, this information will help decide if Mr. Boston's methods are as justified as they claim," Janet explained. She looked at Valerie, who was angry at the objection. She knew Tom's beatings were linked to his bad grades. She wanted that proven.

"Not all that well, I'm afraid," Mrs. Pershing replied. "He was absent from classes to see in-school specialists in the winter trimester. I often excluded him from assignments because of this. We've studied different kinds or rock and clouds in science, as well as electricity, and he just didn't understand it. Same with Social Studies. We're studying Europe, including the Renaissance Era. He understands the geographical parts, and certain European cultures, but when it comes to the Renaissance, it's like he's in a daze. I've come to expect that from him, though.

"This past trimester, he's found it very difficult to do math without a calculator. And he had to officially drop French this February because of his speaking skills. I know he's a very slow speaker, and his teacher complained that he couldn't get pronounce any words right. The only important subject he's doing well in is English. I gave them this assignment where I had a list of forty books, and told students to read fifteen of them. Then I had them do a least five assignments based on analysis, synthesis, synopsis, creativity, and so on. Jeremy could read the books, but I had to give him assignments I thought would come easy. Kids call him things like 'dumbo' and 'retarded.'"

"How does he react to your discipline style?"

Mrs. Pershing took a breath. "I am very strict with my students, and I'm not shy about yelling and punishment at all. Yet, I'm terrified to be overly strict with Jeremy because I know it only increases his stress level. In the morning, he comes to class all worked up, and I can tell what happened the night before. That's why I hate including him when I'm punishing the whole class. Not only does he not do things to deserve it, he also doesn't take it well."

Janet paused a minute and asked, "Now, Mrs. Pershing, I know this is going to seem touchy, but I need your professional opinion. Who do you think is better fit to raise Jeremy?"

"I really don't know," Mrs. Pershing sighed. "There are times I wish Valerie would come down a little harder on Jeremy. If only she'd stopped blaming his faults on his little syndrome – as true as it may be – his behavior could improve a little. She's very passive, and believes it's impossible to teach a child like Jeremy right from wrong when it's not. But Tom's no prize, either."

"Do explain," Janet urged.

"I can't ever talk to them about Jeremy," Mrs. Pershing explained. "Valerie naively protects Jeremy, and says that Tom doesn't understands the boy's mental problems, and is extremely too hard. Tom always says that she uses this to make excuses, and yells, curses and publicly humiliates her. It's always the same thing. I tell them they need to meet in the middle on this issue – Valerie needs to see Tom's side of things, and vice versa. But no, Tom's always right, and Valerie's always wrong."

Suddenly, Tom pounded his fist on the table and stood. "Of _course_ Valerie's always wrong!" he yelled out. "She spoils Jeremy and treats him like a little prince!"

"Mr. Boston, please sit down and be quiet!" the judge ordered.

Before Janet could ask another question, Mrs. Pershing continued, "I mentioned earlier that I'm afraid to be too strict with Jeremy. I can't even yell at him. He cries very often whenever I yell at other students, and not because he's the one being yelled at! He knows that! He cries because I scared him! And that's how it is at home! Tom Boston yells at Jeremy too much at home, and it scares him! _He_ scares him!"

"Scares him _straight_!" Tom yelled again. "I'm only trying to scare him _straight_! To put the fear of God into him!"

"_Mr. Boston, sit down and calm yourself!_" the judge boomed.

Mrs. Pershing stood and pointed at Tom. "That man is another major reason why Jeremy is failing at school, not just his disabilities! It's a proven _fact_ that a child's home life reflects how he or she does at school! Jeremy's home life is a living hell! I see the bruises and marks all over his face, and I'm always hearing about it! No wonder Valerie thinks of 'tough love' as an oxymoron!"

"_YOU FUCKING LITTLE BITCH!_" Tom screamed at her. He quickly walked over to the witness stand and screamed into her face. "You're supposed to be one of the tougher teachers in that damn school, _and you're siding with my fucking wife_!"

"Mr. Boston, get back into your seat immediately!" the judge ordered.

"You're just like everyone else, using Jeremy's disabilities as an excuse to be soft on him!" Tom accused.

"There you go again!" Mrs. Pershing spat. "I swear I'm not–"

"And what was that shit about you not knowing who's better fit for him! You know fucking well Valerie's not fit to raise him properly!"

The judge started pounding his gavel. "Mr. Boston, I will hold you in contempt!"

But Tom soon turned his rage towards Valerie, and she became frightened. She wondered if he would hit her again. He screamed at her, "You fucking stupid little whore! You'll never see Jeremy again, I'll see to that! And I'll raise him however the fuck I see fit!"

The judge had finally had enough. "Bailiff!" he bellowed. "Remove this man from the courtroom immediately!"

The bailiff grabbed Tom's shoulders and dragged him out. As Tom was struggling himself free, he screamed, "_I'm_ the one who provides for this goddamn family! I'm the one paying the bills, the mortgage! You would be out on the fucking streets, homeless if it weren't for me!"

When he was gone, Janet went back with Valerie, and the judge looked at St. George. "Cross-examination, Mr. St. George," he said.

"I have no questions," St. George said.

"Very well, then." The judge told Mrs. Pershing to step down. She did, and he began his ruling.

"Mr. Boston's behavior in this courtroom today has persuaded me to put everything aside, and get to the ruling now," he began. "Judging by the things that Mrs. Boston has said, and the comments given by young Jeremy's educators, it is clear that Mr. Boston is far too unstable to care for this boy. A father who thinks nothing of shaking his baby, simply because his career plans have been altered, and who insists on driving him into the ground like a stake is the lowest form of cowardice I've ever seen. And when he's popping off to a respected schoolteacher like Mrs. Pershing, it only forecasts what he will do to a child who can't defend himself. It would be a tragic mistake to release Jeremy into Mr. Boston's custody. I guarantee that in a short time, Jeremy would be dead, and Mr. Boston would be on trial for his murder. Therefore, I have no choice but to grant the divorce and award sole custody to Mrs. Boston, as well as one hundred percent of the martial assets.

"Mr. Boston will have no visitation rights, be stripped of his parental rights, and must stay at least one thousand feet away from Jeremy and his mother. However, he will be awarded the house." The judge looked at Valerie. "Mrs. Boston, you should be commended as the poster woman for special needs child care. I can only pray that you can raise Jeremy by yourself, or find a man who can show how a real father cares for someone like him. And I'd like to use this trial as a warning to parents who overuse strong disciplinary methods. It destroys that fine line between discipline and abuse. It is especially cruel to do this to special needs children like Jeremy, and dangerous to believe that this is how to teach them wrong from right. It's not for the child's well-being, and parents must learn there are dire consequences for this type of action. Mrs. Boston, I wish you and Jeremy the best of luck in your future. Court is adjourned."

Valerie and Janet waited until St. George left the courtroom to tell Tom. "We don't want any sudden attacks," Janet said. Valerie nodded, and soon they heard Tom screaming from outside. In the halls, they saw the bailiff grabbing Tom's shoulders tighter, as he was lunging towards Valerie.

"I'll get you for this, you bitch!" he yelled. "You'll never make it on your own with Jeremy! You can't provide for him like I can! You can't discipline him like I can! Just you wait, he'll be back with me! You know jack shit about good, effective parenting!"

"Why don't you repeat that last sentence next time you look in the mirror?" Valerie spat back. "Jeremy and I are moving to Empire City, where I'll likely have a higher salary with my advertising firm. Of course I can provide for MY son. And I'll see to it you never lay your eyes – or hands – on him ever again!" She left the courthouse, with Tom screaming behind her.

They spent the next few days packing up their things. Valerie called her family to inform them of the divorce outcome. Her mother was thrilled, telling her, "I always knew Tom would end up losing his family. He certainly isn't deserving of it."

She then reserved two places for the next flight to Empire City. The morning they left, a moving company helped with the boxed items, storing them in their truck, and following Valerie's station wagon to the airport in Indianapolis. There, she wrote down the license plate number of her car, and her sister Rhonda's address. She requested that her car be shipped to Empire City as she confirmed her tickets.

Forty-five minutes later, Valerie and Jeremy boarded a plane for Empire City.

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, sorry if the C.O.P.S. aren't here yet, and this is starting to get way boring. Originally, this was going to be part of Chapter 1, but after realizing how long this was going to be, I changed my mind. (I'm so glad I did!) Anyway, don't forget to read and review, they're very important. See you in Chapter 3. 


	3. New Divorced Family In Town

**Author's Note:** Hey, everyone, it's me, here with Chappie Three. Again, sorry for the long delay, but this chapter was such a challenge for me to write. I especially had a tough time with introducing Bulletproof and his men and women here. What do you do when – unlike what I did in my last fic, _A Novel Dishonour_ – you're writing in the third person, and the POV character has just moved to Empire City, and knows next to nothing about the city's police affairs? I really had to spend time away from this piece to think about this one. I knew I wanted the "police picnic" setting for the introductions, however. I hope it turns out okay.

Also, for your interest, I brought Longarm O'Malley's son, Brian, into the plot – as one of two new friends that Jeremy makes in Empire City, totally unlike last time. I originally wanted to save him for next chapter, when Jeremy makes friends with Tyler (my own character) and he can introduce Jeremy to Brian. But I thought it would make more sense for Jeremy and Brian to meet and become friends here. (That's the tricky thing about writing outlines on paper before you start composing – during the composition process, you just MIGHT change your mind about something you originally wrote down.) Also, I decided to write Longarm's wife into the story and make her one of Valerie's co-workers. (Since I'm referring to many of the adults by their first names in the narration here, I decided to give her a name instead of referring to her as "Mrs. O'Malley" – I settled on "Elise;" I hope that's accurate for all you die-hard C.O.P.S. fans.) And, like last time, I created my own member of C.O.P.S. for this fic – Kevin "Blackbelt" Raines. Am I a genius or what… ROFLMAO!

**Disclaimer**:I don't own C.O.P.S. or any characters from the show; that would be DIC Animation studios, and the majorly talented creators and staff behind this cartoon serial, This would include "guest" characters Brian O'Malley and Mrs. O'Malley (Elise). My own characters are Valerie Boston and members of her family; Tyler Raines, and his brother and stepbrother, Jonathan and Mitchell, as well as his mother and stepfather, Cindy and Kevin "Blackbelt" Raines.

**Disclaimer Note**: In future chapters, I will be introducing Big Boss and ALL of his gang of crooks (some of whom also have eyes for Valerie, as this story's summary has hinted,) as well as a brief "guest" appearance by ace reporter Whitney Morgan, as "borrowed" characters. My own characters will include the bitchy "office gossip" Teresa Laird; Valerie, Cindy and Elise's bosses, Mr. Lancer and Mr. Sussex, as well as many of their other co-workers. I am only putting this note so I WON'T HAVE TO WRITE ANY MORE OF THESE DAMN DISCLAIMERS. I'm sorry, but this is getting very annoying for me. Well, enough yakking. Here's Chapter Three for reading and reviewing.

* * *

Chapter 3

Valerie and Jeremy landed at Empire City's King Empire International Airport. She was holding his hand rather tightly the whole way to the baggage claim. She always did this whenever they were in big airports and other large places. She worried about him wandering off and getting lost.

In the baggage claim area, she was greeted by a short elderly woman in her early seventies, with her blonde hair going white, wearing a floral print dress. Standing next to her was a woman in her mid-forties, with chocolate brunette hair, wearing glasses, and a lavender blouse and purple skirt that made her look like she was ready to go to work.

Jeremy could recognize them from a distance. "Grandma! Aunt Rhonda!" he called as he ran towards them.

Valerie rushed to catch her son. "Jeremy, wait up!" she called.

"Now, Valerie, you needn't tell your son to wait for you when he's so excited to see his Grandma," Polly said, grinning and hugging her grandson.

Valerie embraced both her mother and sister. "It's so wonderful to see you again," she said. She noticed her other sister, Karen, was absent. "I suppose Karen's enjoying herself on her two-week vacation in Brazil, basking on the beaches in the hot sun. Ms. I-Work-From-Home-And-Make-More-Money-In-A-Week-Than-You-Can-In-A-Year. She just kept yakking about it when I called her."

"Yeah, it pisses me off, too," Rhonda agreed. "But still, it's so good that you could move here to Empire City. Now you'll get to see us more often than just Thanksgiving and Christmas."

"Oh, come on, Rhonda," Valerie mused. "Tom may have been a blowhard, but he wasn't _that_ controlling towards me." They went to the carousels to get hers and Jeremy's suitcases and boxes.

"Are you kidding, sis?" Rhonda objected. "Screaming at Mom, Karen and me like he did during family visits and over the phone? He sure knew how to ruin family get-togethers. I can't tell you how many times Richard and Bart got into fistfights with him over everything!"

"Well, he never liked either of your husbands telling him how to raise Jeremy." Valerie started retrieving boxes with her name on it. Rhonda got Jeremy's boxes. "Come to think of it, he never liked _anyone_ telling him how to raise Jeremy. Especially when he's convinced he's right, and 'the experts don't know dick.'" She looked down at the carousel and sighed, allowing more of her boxes to run right past her.

Rhonda patted her sister's shoulder. "Hey, he was too ignorant to see he _needed_ to be told what to do. But thank God he's out of our lives now."

When they retrieved all of Valerie's belongings, she, Rhonda and Polly placed everything on three luggage carts. "Wow, you must have cleaned out your space and Jeremy's room to get all this," Rhonda commented.

"I had to," Valerie replied. "It was Tom's house, after all. I was convinced that he would confiscate anything of ours that we left behind there. That's the last thing I wanted."

When they left the airport, Rhonda said to Valerie, "I had Richard and the kids clean up the entire house. You'll be staying with us until we can find you a place to live. You can have the guest room, and Jeremy can share a room with Caleb."

"Thanks," Valerie replied, "and I hope you still have that list of places I want. We really need to go house shopping."

Rhonda and her family lived in a medium-sized townhouse on Ravenell Street, in the central north-eastern part of Empire City. When she and Polly arrived at her house, they helped Valerie unload the cars. At first, Polly attempted to take some boxes out of her car, but Valerie insisted she'd do it all herself.

"Mother, I don't want you hurting your back with all these heavy things," she told her.

"Valerie, I may be a senior woman, but I can assure you, I still have the bones of an active forty-year-old," Polly insisted. "There's more stuff in Rhonda's car. You can help her with that." She proceeded to take two boxes out of her car trunk, and into the house.

As Valerie was bringing in her suitcase, she saw her fifteen-year-old niece, Nicole, and twelve-year-old nephew, Caleb, rushing out of the house with Jeremy. She believed they were going to get more boxes. She called to them, "Nicole! Caleb! Make sure Jeremy doesn't bring in anything heavy, all right? I don't think he'll be able to handle it!"

"Yes, Aunt Valerie!" Nicole called in the distance.

When all of Jeremy's things were brought inside, Rhonda said to him, "Jeremy, in Caleb's closet are some dresser drawers for you to put your clothes in. I'll have Nicole and Caleb take them to your room and help you unpack, okay?"

"Okay, Aunt Rhonda," Jeremy replied.

In Caleb's bedroom, Jeremy was unpacking all of his underwear and socks in his bottom drawer. He helped Caleb put his shorts, pants and jeans in the drawers above. But he looked to his left, and noted all of Caleb's pants and jeans folded neatly and placed on a steel wire rack. To his left, he saw Caleb's good shirts and sweaters hung on hangers.

"Caleb," Jeremy asked, "do you… have… any more… hangers for my… school shirts?"

Caleb shook his head and replied, "No, Jeremy, I think Mom wants to see all your shirts in one of the top drawers. She'll freak if she sees your stuff mixed up with mine." Jeremy nodded at his word, and opened the very top drawer.

When all of his clothes were put away, Caleb and Jeremy saw Richard at the door. He was at least six feet tall, Jeremy noted, balding, with a thick brown moustache. He smiled at the boys and said, "Jeremy, after a flight like that, you must be hungry, aren't you?"

"Yes," Jeremy replied.

"Well, I ordered pizza for everyone," he grinned. "It should be here in thirty minutes." The boys cheered, jumping all over the room, then ran upstairs to their mothers and grandmother.

* * *

The following Tuesday, after the Memorial Day weekend, Valerie started her job at the Empire City branch of Lancer and Sussex. Between her job, and trying to find a school to register Jeremy in, there was little time for house-hunting. She and Rhonda had to do that on the weekends. And with only three weeks of school left before summer, Valerie had to leave her son with Polly. She felt guilty, as she regretted not looking for a school during her divorce proceedings. She wished she _could_ have divided her time between Indiana and Empire City at that time. In fact, the only time she was in Empire City during the divorce was for three days in late April, for the job interview her old firm had arranged. 

She'd resolved to devote whole lunch hours to finding a school for Jeremy.

That weekend, Rhonda and Valerie went on their first house-hunting tour. They started in a city suburb called Lillimat, where Karen lived. There were three available houses on the street where she lived, Turin Lane.

"Karen really wants you to live in this neighborhood," Rhonda said. "She feels it's very important for you to live close to the family."

"Well, that's nice, but don't tell me she persuaded you to discard all the other places I want," Valerie replied. She looked concerned about Karen's request. "I mean, she knows I'd be working long hours in my job sometimes, but I really don't want to be dependant on any of you."

They stopped at the first available house on the street, 181 Turin Lane. "Well, she and I talked about it," Rhonda explained, "and she said that she would look after Jeremy after school some days, and when you go on business trips. Believe me, sis, I was concerned about it, too. But she swears this has nothing to do with dependency, and she insists Jeremy's condition requires lots of care."

Yet, Valerie was amazed by what she saw in the house. She cooed at the small crystal chandelier hanging in the front hall, and saw the closet had instant access. "That's nice," she said. "I like a closet that doesn't have doors."

They went into the living room. The walls were painted a sea-breeze green. Valerie thought they gave a refreshing look to the house. The carpeting was as blue as the ocean. She noticed a brown wall unit that was also used as an entertainment center. She frowned at that. She said to Rhonda, "That color does not go with the rest of the place. I'll have to paint it a nice lime green." She saw three lighting fixtures on the east wall, painted white. She thought they looked like seashells.

"Wow!" Valerie exclaimed. "I feel like I'm in Atlantis."

"If you go with this house," Rhonda said, "I'll have Karen look into all new furniture to coordinate when she gets back." As they proceeded, "I still can't believe you left all your original stuff behind."

The living room had an archway to the dining room. The walls were painted white, and there were triangular tiles on the ceiling. "Triangles on the ceiling," Valerie remarked. "Who would have thought it?"

"It _is_ a nice touch, isn't it?" her sister agreed.

The dining room was adjoined with the kitchen. The previous owners had left behind a stainless steel refrigerator and an oven. She noticed the walls in between the counters and cupboards and windows had tacky yellow wallpaper, with an even tackier floral print. She complained, "That needs to go. It's very 1960's, and it doesn't fit with the rest of the house."

She opened the refrigerator to see two boxes of baking soda, and a box of Swiss chocolates wrapped in plastic. Probably a welcoming offer to the new owners from the old, she thought, so she put it back unopened. She noticed an island behind her, which looked just like the counters. She found a pull-out wooden cutting board in between the oven and the sink. She looked at the drawers where the cookbooks usually get stored. They obviously took their microwave. Thankfully, she had hers boxed away before she moved.

Down the hallway, Rhonda showed Valerie a master bathroom, and three empty rooms, two of which were meant to be bedrooms. The bedrooms were at the end of the hall, Rhonda pointed out. They looked at the one to the right. It had red carpeting, and one medium-sized closet. Rhonda told her sister, "This room would be perfect for Jeremy. Dresser drawers and some small shelves would be enough to keep the simplicity. I don't see why he should have anything fancy in here, other than a radio and alarm clock."

"Still, it shouldn't be boring," Valerie said. "Maybe a colorful rainbow theme would be nice. Jeremy's always had an interest in art."

The bedroom across from it was bigger. The walls were painted purple, striped with two different shades. She thought the plum-colored carpeting looked beautiful. She also discovered a small bathroom with a shower, sink and toilet.

"And you should have this one," Rhonda told her. "This way, if Jeremy needs you for anything, you'll be just across the hall."

"I want this one anyway, it's so beautiful," Valerie replied. "Maybe I'll get violet pillows, mauve bed sheets, and a dark purple comforter to coordinate with the room."

"Don't be thinking ahead too far," Rhonda warned. "Someone else may snatch this from you."

They went downstairs to the basement. The first thing they saw was a large den with a built-in bar. Valerie was interested in the bar. Rhonda stated this was the recreation room and said, "With all the appropriate furnishings, and perhaps a stereo system, you can hold all your indoor parties in this room."

Adjoining the recreation room, Valerie saw a smaller bathroom, and an empty back room, with a bare concrete floor and walls. She never went into either one, but thought of converting the back room into a laundry room, and adding a large freezer.

There were two more rooms in the basement, one with sky blue walls, and a bigger one with white walls. They went into the larger rooms first. "Here," Rhonda said, "Jeremy can use this room for homework and socializing. This was previously used as a child's bedroom, so we have a built in bookcase for all his books. Maybe with a nice desk in this area, too, this can become his space for reading, drawing and homework. And I also think maybe a television would be good for this room."

Rhonda told Valerie she could use the smaller room for a fitness area. "We'll have to talk to Karen about getting a treadmill, exercise bike, and other such equipment to furnish this properly," she said.

"Nice, but what about that other room upstairs?" Valerie asked.

"We also need to talk to Karen about obtaining a computer, printer and modem. I'm thinking maybe that can be your home office." Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Damn, but she sells _every_ piece of furniture and equipment from that bloody home office of hers. Ikea has _nothing_ on her! And you're making advancements in your advertising career. And here I am, still selling houses for a living! By the end of this year, you'll be making more money than me, you two. And I'm older than the both of you! It's not fucking fair, I tell you!"

Valerie rubbed Rhonda's shoulder. "Cheer up, sis. Both Karen and I know that you love your work." She stamped her foot and smiled. "Now gimme this house! I love how they arranged all the color schemes!"

"Slow down!" Rhonda griped. "You just can't take the first house you see. It's like dating. You have to see what else is out there before making a final decision." She took Valerie's arm and led her upstairs and out of the house. "Come, we have other places to look at."

* * *

Meanwhile, Jeremy was at the park, playing catch football with Caleb while Polly watched. With every throw, Caleb noticed that Jeremy was getting better at catching. But he could never throw it far enough for Caleb to catch it. He could only toss it halfway towards him. After fifteen throws, Jeremy called, "Hey, Caleb! You're… going to… have to come… closer. I can't throw… it as far… as a… normal… person." 

Caleb walked halfway towards his cousin and picked up the football. He stood in that place and said, "Okay, let's just toss this back and forth."

Nearby, the Empire City police force was holding its annual picnic. Four boys had emerged from the picnic area, two boys with dark brown hair, a third with raven-colored hair, and the fourth with blond hair that looked like the color of a sunflower to Jeremy. The short brown-haired boy was holding a soccer ball. They looked at Caleb and Jeremy, and the boy with the ball called, "Hey, guys, want to play with us?"

Caleb and Jeremy stared at the darker-haired boys with interest. The tallest and shortest ones had the brown hair. The raven-haired boy looked like the "middle child" to Caleb and Jeremy. Each of these boys looked about a foot apart in height, they believed. The tall boy had to be a junior in high school, Caleb guessed. He certainly looked old enough for Nicole to date. The short boy looked to be around Jeremy's age, maybe a little older. The middle boy looked like he was graduating from middle school this year. And the blond boy was around the same height as the shortest boy. Still, Caleb and Jeremy were interested in playing with them.

"Sure," Caleb said, smiling. He looked at Polly. She smiled in approval. They walked over to the four boys, and Caleb introduced himself and Jeremy.

"I'm Tyler Raines," said the short boy. He pointed at the tall boy, then the middle boy. "These two are my big brother, Jonathan, and our stepbrother, Mitchell."

"I'm thirteen, Jonathan's fifteen and Tyler just turned eleven a month ago," Mitchell added, grinning.

The blond boy smiled at them and added, "I'm Brian O'Malley, Tyler's friend. I'm eleven, too."

Polly overheard this and went over to the boys. "Well, isn't that a coincidence?" she said, smiling. "Jeremy will be turning eleven this coming August." She immediately introduced herself, then looked at Tyler and Brian. "Jeremy didn't have very many friends when he was living in Indiana. Perhaps you three could be friends?"

"Grandma," Caleb said. "I don't think Aunt Valerie will like you pressuring Jeremy to make new friends like that. Boys like him are very shy."

"Nonsense," Polly replied. "Your Aunt Valerie told us Jeremy tried very hard to make friends. He wanted to so badly. They just thought he was too different, that's all."

Tyler and Brian were confused at first, but then Polly explained, "That blasted father of his shook Jeremy severely when he was a baby. He has learning problems that will last him a lifetime. He might even have to go to a special school here."

"Grandma!" Jeremy cried. "I could… have… told them… that!"

The younger boys looked quite sympathetic. Tyler put his hand on Jeremy's shoulder and said, "I'm so sorry, Jeremy. Your father is a stupid, evil man. That's probably why you're talking so slow, is it?"

"Yes," Jeremy answered. "I just… moved… here… with… my Mom. She just… divorced… my Dad."

But Brian was angrier at the fact that Jeremy was shaken. "Shaken as a baby," he repeated. "That's not a dad, that's a creep! I can't imagine _my_ Dad doing that to me."

"Well, just so you know," Tyler responded, "my Dad just took off when I was very young, maybe around three years old. I barely remember him, although Jon did. He doesn't want anything to do with him, and neither does our Mom." He started to smile. "Then, when I was seven, Mom got remarried. Our stepdad's really cool. His name is Kevin Raines, but everyone calls him 'Blackbelt,' including Jon and me. He's part of this really cool team of officers, C.O.P.S."

"And you know what? So's my Dad, Longarm O'Malley!" Brian added, grinning.

"They're right over at the picnic with the rest of them," Tyler said. "Maybe later, we can take you to meet them."

"That'd be awesome," Caleb said. "That is, if our grandmother will let us."

Polly smiled and nodded. "Of course you can. Just keep an eye on Jeremy and make sure he stays with you."

The boys ran around with the soccer ball for half an hour. While they were playing, Tyler, Brian and Mitchell noticed Jeremy was trotting as he ran. He couldn't kick the ball very far as he was running. In order to kick it properly, Jeremy had to stop beforehand. Mitchell was whispering something to Tyler, and Tyler nudged him back disapprovingly, whispering, "Don't say that about him! Maybe he got that way because of the shaking."

Caleb stopped and asked them, "What? Is anyone saying stuff about Jeremy?"

"No, Caleb, it's nothing," Tyler answered. "Nothing at all, really." He turned and glared harshly at his stepbrother. Mitchell shook his head, feeling ashamed.

After fifteen minutes, Jeremy became extremely tired from all the running. He sat on the bench with Polly. Tyler and Brian felt very bad for him, and Caleb smiled at his sympathy. Mitchell was tempted to say something, but Jonathan stopped him.

When it was time, Caleb told Polly, "Grandma, Tyler and the guys want to take us to the picnic now. We'll be right back." He took Jeremy and ran to join them.

"Don't get lost!" she called.

At the picnic, they saw police officers gathered with their families, eating, drinking, laughing, playing games. Jeremy wanted to be happy with all this, but he couldn't. He couldn't bear the sight of all the police officer fathers acting close and loving to their sons, eating together, holding each other, having intimate conversations, playing games of catch. He started to think of his father, wishing he could have been more loving and intimate towards him, wondering why he mistreated him like he did. Tyler noticed Jeremy almost starting to cry, and brought him closer.

"Don't feel bad, Jeremy," he said. "Once you meet Bulletproof and Blackbelt and all the rest of them, you'll feel better, I promise."

"I've never… been around… a group of… policemen… before," Jeremy said. "I don't know… what to… say."

"Just say hello, stay calm and be yourself," Brian advised. "They'll like you in an instant, trust me."

Moments later, the boys stopped ten feet from three adjoining tables with fourteen people, all of them dressed casually – the men in t-shirts, dress shirts, blue jeans and khakis, the women in pastel-colored blouses and skirts. Jeremy had been looking around at all the people at the picnic. Everyone was dressed casually. He couldn't tell the police officers from their spouses. It was the same for this group he was staring at.

Soon, Tyler called out, "Mom! Blackbelt! Bulletproof! Everyone! Look who we found in the park!"

Everyone at the tables turned to the boys. As they walked closer, Jeremy smiled nervously at them all. He started on his left, and worked his way clockwise. There was one African-American man in sunglasses, in a white polo striped with pink, and bone khakis. Next to him was a man in an orange cap and glasses that seemed to cover half his face. He was wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans, and his muscles looked as if he had melons sticking up from his arms. Next to him were two men with black moustaches, one showing his dark brown hair, the other wearing a cowboy hat. The dark-haired man was wearing a red T-shirt with a black leather jacket. The man in the cowboy hat was wearing a white button-down silk shirt with long sleeves, and perhaps black jeans with cowboy boots. Though Jeremy couldn't see the bottom half of this man, he figured that all police officers who dressed like cowboys dressed in black jeans and boots when they were off duty.

At the far edge of the table, sitting in lawn chairs, were a dirty blond-haired man and three women. The first woman had the same hair color as Brian. The second woman had lighter blonde hair, and the third had raven-colored hair. The blond man was wearing a light blue polo; his wife, a blouse with a rose and violet print. The other blonde woman was wearing a white T-shirt with a denim vest; and the raven haired woman, a purple T-shirt with the logo of some sports team that seemed unfamiliar to Jeremy. Next to the women was a slightly younger man with light brown hair, wearing a forest green polo with black stripes. He couldn't see what kinds of pants or skirts they were wearing.

On the right side of the big table sat a man in a black button-down shirt, and a baseball cap big enough to cover his hair. Next to him was a man with chocolate-colored hair, in a NASCAR T-shirt with a racer Jeremy couldn't identify embroidered on it. Next to him was a man with hair the color of wheat, in a plain white polo, black slacks and loafers. Jeremy thought this man looked the most handsome. Finally, there was a man with jet-black hair, blacker than Mitchell's almost, but he wore no moustache unlike the other dark-haired men. This man was dressed in a black T-shirt and white khaki shorts. Seated next to him in a lawn chair was a brunette woman, her hair down to her shoulders. She was wearing a blue short-sleeved silk blouse, a black skirt decorated with red and white swirl shapes, and white shoes.

As Jeremy was looking around at them all, Tyler was introducing them. "Jeremy, I'd like you to meet Bulletproof, Mace, Bowzer, and Sundown," he said. "And that's Longarm and his wife, Mrs. O'Malley. They're Brian's parents. Next to Mrs. O'Malley are Mainframe, Mirage and Hardtop. And on the right are Highway, Bullseye and Barricade." Tyler grinned. "And, saving the best for last, these are Mitchell's father, Blackbelt, and Jon's and my Mom. Everyone, I'd like you to meet Jeremy Boston and his cousin Caleb Shewfelt."

Longarm's wife, Elise, and the brunette woman, Cindy Raines, both became alert when they heard Tyler say Jeremy's name. "Jeremy Boston," Cindy repeated. "Is your mother named Valerie, by any chance?"

Jeremy nodded confidently. "Yes, she is," he answered. Brian, Tyler and Jonathan all looked at their mothers, shocked.

"Mom, how did you know?" Tyler asked.

"Jeremy's mother just started working with us at Lancer and Sussex," Cindy answered. She looked at Jeremy. "This whole week, all she ever talked about was you."

"She also talked obsessively about her divorce, and that stupid excuse of a man that she married," Elise added, sipping her iced tea. "I can tell it's going to take some time for her to recover."

Jeremy, Caleb, and the boys stayed in the picnic area for a half-hour. Cindy told them to stay where she, Elise and the C.O.P.S. could watch over them. They spent most of the time passing the soccer ball around. At one point, they even went for ice cream. While they were licking their ice cream, Jeremy began to ask about his new friends' relations with the Empire City police.

"Are… you guys… popular… with the… police here?" he asked.

Tyler nodded. "You bet!" he said. "Jon and I loved Blackbelt from the first time Mom brought him home to meet us. Once you get to know us, you'll see why. He's a karate master, been at it since he was only four years old. Can you believe that? That's how he got the name, a code name Bulletproof gave him. Anyway, he got us doing it almost instantly after we got to know him. We've learned some cool moves through him. He also volunteers a lot of his off-duty time. He's a sensei at the Boys and Girls Club not too far from where we live."

Jonathan grinned and added, "He's also involved in a lot of community services, including Children's Literacy Awareness, and various fundraisers for police charities, as well as the Big Brother program. I've been doing it with him since I was around ten, and Tyler started getting into it last year as well. Those are the best times we've spent with him as father and sons."

"It was because of him and Mom that Bulletproof and the others like us so much," Tyler said.

"That's nice," Jeremy grinned. "What can some… of the… other C.O.P.S.… do?"

Tyler grinned wider and said, "Glad you asked, because some of them have really cool ways of stopping crime." He stood up and pointed some of them out. "Longarm, for example, has this neat shooting power-cuff that extends… well, I don't know how long exactly. Ask him, and he'll show you how it works. Mainframe's a total whiz at computers. But Jon and Mitch are just as good as her; even _she's_ impressed by what they know. Bowzer handles a robotic K-9 dog. Blitz is really friendly once you get used to him. And you should see how fast Highway goes on his motorbike. Sometimes he'll zip along much too fast–"

He was suddenly interrupted by a female voice calling Jeremy and Caleb's names. They turned to see Valerie, Rhonda and Polly coming towards them. Jeremy and Caleb ran to them, hugged them, then they brought them over to meet the other boys. Jeremy introduced Tyler and Brian and said, "These are my… new friends."

Valerie smiled, "New friends," she repeated. "That's wonderful, sweetie. I'm so happy for you."

Cindy and Elise saw Valerie with the boys, and acknowledged her. She saw them, became surprised, and took Jeremy and Caleb over to the tables. She said, "Girls! Fancy seeing _you_ two at a police picnic!"

"Well, we're just here out of love and support for our husbands," Cindy laughed. She and Elise introduced their husbands first, then they went around the table for the other C.O.P.S., starting with Bulletproof.

Valerie shoved Cindy in a comical fashion. "You scoundrels," she said. "Why didn't you tell me you were married to police officers?"

"Well, gee, Valerie, maybe because you didn't ask?" Elise suggested, laughing.

But Valerie didn't hear her. She had turned back to Bulletproof and his male cohorts, and began flirting with them, including Longarm and Blackbelt. But these two didn't flirt back, and neither did Bulletproof, though the rest of them did. She barely cared about Mainframe and Mirage's uncomfortable and confused looks, as she flirted her way around the tables. She especially noted Mace without his glasses on, his brown eyes staring into her ocean blues. She was also interested in Bowzer and Sundown's dark, masculine complexions, and their facial hair. But she thought Sundown had the better-looking moustache.

Her hair swung around as she turned to Highway, Bullseye, Blackbelt and Barricade. She stared at all of their faces, and thought their features were the most handsome and heroic. She thought Barricade was the best-looking of them all; she was so attracted to his wheat-colored hair. She began to understand why Cindy married Blackbelt, and Elise married Longarm, so she tried to stop focusing on them. But she wondered about the others. No one else brought any significant others with them. As she flirted she tried to determine which of the others were single, widowed, divorced or separated.

As she went around the table around, she caught Sundown speaking lowly to Bowzer, "She's so pretty. Her husband was a damned fool to throw _her_ away."

But neither Cindy nor Elise were amused by this. Elise pulled on Valerie's hair and made her stop flirting. She screamed in pain, grabbed her hair out of her co-worker's tight grip, and screamed, "Elise, dammit! That hurt!"

"What do you think you're doing?" she replied. "Did you perhaps forget that Blackbelt and Longarm were already married? To Cindy and me, respectably? Certainly glad neither of them flirted with you, or else _your_ ass would've been hamburger!" Valerie looked at Cindy. She looked like she wanted to slap her. Hard.

"Sorry, girls," she replied, embarrassed. "I just didn't know this little team had such beautiful guys."

"Well, while you were off in your own fantasy world," Cindy said, "we _were_ wondering about your house hunting today. You said you were going with your sister today. I assume you just finished. How did it go?"

"What?" Valerie asked, then Rhonda nudged her. "Oh yeah, the house hunting! Yeah, it went great." She proceeded to tell them about the one house she wanted on Turin Lane, as well as some others on that street, and in neighborhoods nearby.

Meanwhile, Caleb wrote down his address and phone number for Brian and Tyler. "Jeremy's staying with me and my family until Aunt Valerie settles in a new house," he told them. "Call us if you want to hang out." Jeremy and Caleb saw Rhonda and Polly motioning for them to come, so they did, saying so long to the new friends.

When Valerie had stopped talking, she noticed that her family had already left. She said, "Listen, you guys, it's been so much fun, but I have to go. My family's probably waiting for me in the parking lot. Cindy and Elise, if we can't get together tomorrow, see you at work on Monday."

"Wait!" Mace, Sundown and Barricade called at once before she left. They approached her, and Sundown said, "Can we call you sometime, Miss Valerie?"

She blushed and replied, "Sure. You can reach me at my sister's place until I find a new place to live." She wrote her name and Rhonda's phone number on three separate sheets of paper, and gave one to each man. Wordlessly, she grinned and rushed off to find her family.

* * *

So there's the chapter for you. Hope you enjoyed it; please review. Thank God I'm finished this difficult beginning and can now focus on the romantic aspects of the story. I already know who I'm fixing Valerie up with. I won't tell you who, but I'm planning to have her sleep with more than one member of C.O.P.S. See you in Chapter Four: ) 


	4. Yearning On The Job

**Author's Note**: Hi, I'm back with Chapter Four. First off, a big shout-out to skyefire for her reviews (although brief.) I wish there were more people on this site who are reading and even taking an interest, but it seems that there are only me and her (as well as a few non-members) who remember this cartoon. I would've posted the site here, but it didn't show up on the editing space in the Document Manager! Those readers who don't have it will have to e-mail me for it. There's a wealth of information, audio and video on the site. Educate yourselves on this awesome masterpiece of a cartoon.

Yeah, so I know the opening scene may sound meaningless and veering away from the central plot, but I felt it was important for you readers to see the "professional career" side of Valerie Boston. If you feel, however, that this is unnecessary, or if there are some things in the opening scene that need to be changed, please leave suggestions in your review.

Also, I'm going to need something for research in future chapters. In the C.O.P.S. cartoon serial, there is an episode called "The Case of Mace's Romance," where Mace apparently has a romance with the jewel thief of Big Boss' cohorts, Nightshade. I've never seen this episode, it's not available on the fansite, and I've had considerable trouble trying to download it on Kazaa Lite. If any of you readers know anything detailed about this episode, or have it downloaded on your computer, please e-mail me (it's in my bio) with the info and/or video clip. I've read some things about this, and I thought it'd be perfect to work into my story.

And one more thing. I got a little bit confused with some of the family names of some of the C.O.P.S., specifically Barricade and Bullseye, and perhaps Mace. For example, on the Internet Movie Database site, Barricade is known as Stanley Hide, and Bullseye is known as Hugh Forward. However, on sites like "80s Cartoons Central" and the moved "Yesterdayland," Barricade is Stanley Bach, whereas Bullseye's real name is not revealed. GeoCities' "Cartoon Resource" site confirmed Barricade's last name as Bach, too but Bullseye's last name there is Sikorsky. The C.O.P.S. fansite confirms Barricade as Stanley Bach, and Bullseye as Hugh Forward. Though Sundown's real name is not mentioned in any of the cast lists on any cartoon site advertising this show, I read a comment on this site, Retro Junk, that his real name is Walker Calhoon (though it's "Calhoun" according to my spelling check; I'll have to leave a comment with this correction.) What the heck is going on here? If anyone has the confirmed correct information on this matter, please leave it in your review or e-mail me. I feel that we, as fans of the show, may have to e-mail some corrections to some sources. Also, I feel I may have to do some name changing this chapter at the displeasure of this site.

Anyway, that's all I have to get off my chest. Read, review and enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 4

During a meeting with Evie Cosmetics and Beauty Products – one of Lancer and Sussex's best clients – the following Monday morning, Valerie was discussing a display of magazine advertisements for a new perfume called _Season's Passions_, which she created with Michelle Hartman and Margo Kellogg. Each consisted of a romantic couple dressed for, and in the outdoor setting of, each of the four seasons. Each male model was sniffing the woman's neck, where she was wearing the perfume. All the pictures were drawn and colored to give a "romance novel" feel. Each ad had the slogan, "_Now get passionate about…_" followed by the season matching the picture.

Valerie came up with the idea herself. It was her first project while working in Empire City, and she spent the whole first week on it. She described each ad with a feeling of pride. She liked the spring and summer advertisements best, because of the water imagery and the shirtless male models. She knew the clients would approve of those easily; nothing sold beauty like romantic sexual passions. She was now describing the autumn advertisement, the last one in the display.

"Here, we have the autumn lovers standing up to their ankles in red, orange, yellow and gold leaves," she explained. "Around them, more leaves continue to fall, and we see some trees that are showing bare branches in the background. Now, with the weather cooler, I've dressed the man in a blue long-sleeved work shirt, unbuttoned to the stomach to enhance the sexiness, and brown jeans. The woman is wearing a long-sleeve blouse and a navy skirt with twelve yards of billowing fabric, reminiscent of what Southern belles wore during the Confederate Era. But notice among the trees, the leaves, and the lovers, is the gray overcast sky. Now, as we all know, gray overcasts in the autumn means the weather is definitely getting cooler, and may even signify the first snowfall. This, combined with the clothing, gives off the illusion of the crisp scent that the autumn perfume provides."

Before she could ask if there were any questions, Helen Neale Quinette, president of Evie Cosmetics, and several of her associates from marketing, started talking. They were indulged in the paper copies of the ads. They were saying things about women still loving romance novels, and how the pictures looked less trashy than what people are used to seeing. Valerie, Michelle and Margo were leaning forward to listen to their comments.

Their boss, Chris Lancer, looked at Valerie with approval. She had been preparing to give the conclusion of her presentation, but Mr. Lancer's expression told her to end it now. It looked as if they were going to approve without it.

"So, what do you ladies think?" he grinned.

"In our professional opinion," Quinette began, "the advertisements themed around the seasons will be enough to capture the consumer's eye. Seeing these lovers in passion, complete with these attractive and appropriate fashions, will have our consumers fall into romantic fantasy, and indulge them into the product. It seems as if Ms. Boston, Ms. Hartman and Ms. Kellogg have captured the theme of the perfume very well."

The clients stood up and shook hands with Mr. Lancer, Valerie and her team. "We will take these back to our corporation, and have a vote among our staff. Thank you, Mr. Lancer. Thank you, ladies. We will give you a call back at the end of the day with our final answer." The clients left and the meeting was concluded.

Mr. Lancer went up to Valerie and smiled. "Excellent effort, Valerie," he said. "I can see why they transferred you here. You should be commended for your first assignment."

"Thank you, sir," she replied.

Back in Valerie's office, she, Michelle and Margo were talking about the display, set up in front of her desk. She was pointing out some interesting things about it. Valerie was especially interested in the man they drew for the summer ad.

"How did you come up with giving that guy a military style crew-cut, a thick moustache, and a shitload of hair on his chest?" she asked Michelle. "I swear, those marketing girls were drooling all over it as I explained that summer ad."

"It was part of your goal, silly," Michelle laughed. "Sex appeal without all the trash. I thought a hairy, yet clean look would eliminate all the clichés I've seen on most of the romantic trash they sell."

Valerie was studying all the men in the ads. "You know, I'm just thinking aloud," she said, "but those male models actually look like some men that I just met last weekend." She concentrated on the summer man. His facial features and body mass reminded her of Sundown, with a little bit of Mace thrown in. She thought, _Sundown would probably look like that if he'd joined the military instead of the police force._ Both the spring and autumn models looked like Hardtop to her, with their light brown hair and boyish-looking faces. Except the autumn man would resemble him more if Hardtop had aged ten years. She couldn't really tell with the winter model, however. He was wearing what looked like Sundown's cowboy hat. She studied his face. It looked like he had Longarm's chin, lips and blue eyes, and Blackbelt's nose, cheeks and black brows. She wanted to show this to Cindy and Elise come lunchtime.

Underneath the "corporate dynamo" exterior, Valerie knew she wanted some of the male C.O.P.S.. She thought back to the picnic. Mace, Sundown and Barricade looked expressively gorgeous to her; why else would she give _them_ Rhonda's number, other than because they asked for it? Hardtop was cute, but a bit young for her – at least five years her junior, she guessed. She never could see herself in love with a younger man. She never understood the dating trend of older women and younger men, anyway. Still, she'd give him a chance, then if she didn't want another date because of the age matter, she'd tell him. Bulletproof had to be in his late forties – a bit too old for her. Besides, based on what Elise told her, it seemed he would love his police work more than her. Plus, what if her family didn't approve of an interracial romance? As for Highway, Bowzer and Bullseye, again, cute but not as visually appealing as the men she gave her number to. Maybe if they acted romantic and sexy when and if they called her…

Her biggest question was, how would they all treat Jeremy? _That_ would be her decision factor.

Suddenly, she saw Margo standing in front of her, snapping her fingers. Margo said, "Are you okay, Valerie? You were off in your own world for a while there. You're not usually like this during working hours."

"Perhaps somebody in this office is in love?" Michelle suggested, grinning.

"Come on," Valerie sneered. "I'm a professional career woman. Even if I were in love, I wouldn't be discussing it with others on company time."

Suddenly, they heard a perky voice say, "Did I hear somebody say something about being in love?" They saw Teresa Laird, the chief secretary, walk into her office, paper-clipped sheets in hand. Everyone at the agency knew she was the worst gossip, including Valerie – when she got to know her. If she overheard people mentioning love, she'd tell them unsolicited stories and advice on the subject.

Valerie sighed harshly. "Especially not to certain parties who shall remain nameless." She glared at Teresa. "Teresa, when will you learn to _knock_ before you enter?"

Instead of answering, Teresa said, "Girls, you know how Oscar Lombard from accounting just got back from his honeymoon with his new wife, Annette, in Florida last week? Well, he was going through his honeymoon pictures yesterday, and you won't believe what he found."

"Like we even care right now," Valerie mused.

Teresa ignored her and said, "A vertical eight-by eleven photo of the new Missus and about ten shirtless firefighters. You see, she made some friends with some party girls in her age group the first day of the honeymoon. Lo and behold, there was a firefighter calendar competition going on at some hot-spot the first weekend they were there. Oscar never told me much about what went on there, but from the way _he_ went on, Annette must have had one hell of a time."

Valerie rolled her eyes and rubbed her stomach, convincing herself she was going to be sick. Teresa never came to her with anything interesting, just stories about who was dating whom, relationship breakups, and who was sleeping with whom. So far, Valerie had worked very hard to be accepted in Empire City, just as hard as she did back in Parrish. She hated Teresa bothering her with non-work-related news during company time.

Teresa had gotten to the part where Annette was, "proudly displaying her new catches on their mantle," when Valerie slammed on her desk.

"_Jesus, Teresa!_" she screamed. "Look, I don't mean to get uptight, but could this not wait until lunch?"

"Well, I tried calling you, Val, but your sister said you were busy," Teresa said.

"I was _working_ on my speech for Evie about those ads that we all did!" Valerie focused on the papers in Teresa's hand. "And speaking of which, is that the new assignment from Mr. Sussex for me?"

"It is." Teresa adjusted her wire-thin glasses and smoothed back her long brunette hair. "Pretty and Plump, the plus-size boutique, wants a commercial advertising their new summer line, ASAP. You may want to run this by the video guys."

Valerie examined the hair as she turned to walk out. _If she wore that hair in a bun_, she thought, _she'd be even more of a bitch than she is right now._ She always thought that whenever she had to listen to _her_ meaningless gossip.

When she was gone, Michelle said to Valerie, "Don't worry, I wasn't listening much, either."

"Effective secretary, my ass," Margo agreed. "The bosses ought to give her more work. No wonder Cindy and Elise keep complaining."

* * *

Meanwhile, at C.O.P.S. headquarters, Mace, Sundown and Barricade were sitting at their desks, lost in their daydreams. Ever since they saw Valerie at the police picnic two days earlier, they couldn't stop thinking of her. Neither did the other male C.O.P.S., except for Longarm, Blackbelt and Bulletproof, but at least _they_ were trying to keep focused on a case. 

Apparently, there was a conspiracy of teenagers and pre-teens mysteriously going from model to wild in instances, in a "Jekyll and Hyde" kind of way. Anonymous tips stated that a mysterious stranger had been giving school office staff copies of an audio cassette tape to play over their loudspeakers. On them was a cackling "mad scientist" voice hypnotizing the kids to leave school to go commit robberies, and to worship the C.O.P.S.' arch nemesis, the Big Boss. They had already suspected Big Boss' mad scientist henchman, Dr. Badvibes, to be the voice. But who was giving them the audio tapes?

Bulletproof and Blackbelt walked up to the three daydreamers. Blackbelt took a manila folder full of documents from Bulletproof, and slammed it on Sundown's desk.

"Rise and shine, sleepyheads," they yelled loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

Mace, Sundown and Barricade awoke to the FBI agent and the martial arts expert glaring at them hard. Blackbelt was shaking his head.

"Geez, you guys," he mused. "Are you _still_ fantasizing about that woman who was picking up Tyler's new friend at the picnic Saturday?"

"Sorry, Blackbelt, Bulletproof, but we can't help it," Sundown said. "Miss Valerie is so beautiful. I swear, there's got to be holes in the floor of heaven for her to fall through, and land right here on Earth. Whatever possessed that blasted husband of hers to git rid of her?"

"Actually, Cindy said that _she_ divorced _him_," Blackbelt said. "It was all about Jeremy. He was abusive and unloving towards the kid from the first moment he saw him, and criticized her discipline techniques, and she finally had enough. Or so, that's what she told me."

Barricade frowned. "Good God, that poor Jeremy," he commented. "I'll bet you I could be a better father to him than _that _jerk – and I don't know much about kids."

"And what would _you_ do with the kid, Barricade?" Mace asked. "Why, _I'd_ be taking him to the gym as often as possible, _and_ I'd also take him back to wherever he came from to confront his dad. Abusive, was he? I'd show him how a _real_ man hits."

Sundown laughed at him. "Listen to y'self, Mace!" he replied. "You'd take him to the gym as often as possible? How would _that_ benefit him, Bubba Beefcake? Don't y'all remember him from the picnic? Why, when all of us got Miss Valerie's number, I noticed he looked like a string bean. And he couldn't've been any taller than four and a half feet. Standing at them tables, it looked like his head just popped up!"

At the fax machine nearby, Mirage had picked up more reports. She overheard the conversation and became annoyed. She walked up to them and said, "How can you guys just stand around and talk about that Valerie woman when were in the middle of a case?" She gave Bulletproof the first report. "This just came from Purple Mountain High School. The principal had reported about thirty kids leaving during third period, and stealing staff members' vehicles." Then, the second report. "And this just came from Cyborg Center, that about five thousand dollars worth of merchandise has been stolen. Items include computers and laptops, packages of CD's and cases, and DVD movies."

Bulletproof re-read the reports. "It must be the kids who left that school who committed the Cyborg Center robbery," he declared. "I smell another hypnotic tape." He looked at Blackbelt and Sundown. "Blackbelt, I want you to go down to the Purple Mountain High School to get information on who left and what caused them to leave. Sundown, I want you to go to the computer store and get the identities of the thieves."

"Yes, sir!" they chorused, and left the headquarters immediately.

* * *

It was two-thirty that afternoon. Valerie was discussing concept ideas for the "Pretty and Plump" commercial with Matt Lynch, from the video department when suddenly, she heard her cell phone ringing. She excused herself to answer it. "Hello?" 

"Aunt Valerie?" the voice said. "This is Drew!" Her fourteen-year-old nephew, her sister Karen's son. "Listen, I'm at the Empire City General Hospital. You need to get over here right away. Big brother Sheldon's just got banged up by this group of hypnotic kids when we tried to stop another robbery."

"Sweet Jesus, Drew!" she sighed. "Why'd you two get involved in the first place?"

"Sheldon said it was another one of those goddamn tapes, telling the kids to do that Big Boss' bidding," Drew explained. "My gym class was playing tennis outside, and we saw this whole bunch of kids leaving just as we were coming in. There must have been two hundred kids. Some were walking, some were carpooling in their own cars, others were stealing anything they could find with wheels. Our principal, Mr. Knutt, recruited some people to help him put a stop to this…"

"Drew, you can explain this to me when I get there," she insisted. "Did you already call your Dad?"

"Mr. Knutt just reported Sheldon at the front desk, and the lady just got off the phone with Dad. He should be on his way here right now," he answered. "I'll see you in a few minutes, all right?"

"Yeah, of course, sure, I'll be there. Just stay there until your father arrives. See you." She hung up and said to Matt, "Listen, I just got word that my nephew's been hurt, and I have to be at the hospital. Look over those concepts, and I'll be back in an hour." She left his office. On her way out, she ran into her other boss, George Sussex. She explained the situation to him, and requested, "I must leave for a bit to visit in the hospital." Mr. Sussex, shocked by what she told him, granted the request.

Almost ten minutes later, Valerie met her brother-in-law, Bart, in the hospital parking lot. She said to him, "I just got the call from Drew. What's this I hear about tapes hypnotizing kids to leave school and steal? He said he and Sheldon were trying to stop them."

"It's the second tape that came to their school in a week," Bart explained. "Their first one was just this Thursday. Luckily, Sheldon was outside for gym class when it happened, and Drew was on a class field trip to Washington DC."

"Did you call Karen home from Brazil?"

"I did, and she's taking the first available flight. She was in so much shock and grief when I told her."

They met Drew, and the school principal, Mr. Knutt, at the reception desk. Bart looked at Mr. Knutt and asked, "Is Sheldon all right? How badly hurt is he?"

"He got beaten up repeatedly by the kids who were robbing the Brentwood Department Store at St. Charles' Place," Mr. Knutt replied. "He has a moderate head concussion, cracked ribs and bleeding gashes on some areas of his body. He's unconscious. He may have to stay here until the school year is over, and probably miss final exams."

"Didn't anybody call the police?" Valerie asked.

"I felt it was my duty as principal to control the students the best I could," Mr. Knutt said. "When I couldn't do it anymore, that's when I called in the cavalry."

Valerie looked at Drew and said, "Drew, I want you to explain something to me. You said these tapes were telling everyone to steal stuff for a Big Boss. Just who or what is this Big Boss that everyone's doing this for?"

Drew looked at her as if she'd been living in a third-world country. "You mean you don't know?" he asked

"Drew!" his father said. "We never discussed the city's crime wave when Aunt Valerie visited us in the past. And you know she just moved here."

He cleared his throat and told her, "Big Boss, as this dude prefers to be known, is the most widely-recognized crime boss here in Empire City. He's been creating problems for us ever since he first came here a few years ago. And he hires the most talented criminals from all over the country to help do his dirty work. Karen and I have seen them around, and we warned our kids not to get involved with them. Right, Drew?"

"Right, Dad." Drew answered.

"Anyway," Bart said to Valerie, "these guys have the attitudes of gangsters from the Prohibition Era, right around Capone's time. Fedoras with trench coats, big pants with suspenders, fancy suits and other fashions that went out of style. And we've overheard them talk like that, too. So did Rhonda and Richard. These goons' accents practically _screamed _1920's Chicago, no pun intended. I swear, if that Big Boss didn't brag on the TV about those gadgets he uses for his deeds, I would've thought of him as an anti-tech!" He took a deep breath to keep from rambling too much. "Well, thank God there's this team of specialists, C.O.P.S., who are helping the police put an end this mess. Have you ever met any of them, Valerie?"

Before she could answer, two uniformed police officers – neither of them from Bulletproof's team – entered the hospital to ask some questions about the incident at St. Charles' Place, and Sheldon's condition.

Mr. Knutt explained, "The students who got hypnotized became violent when my recruits and I tried to intervene. Two of my recruits, Julie Jacobsen and Deangela Gregory, are in the infirmary now, being treated for minor injuries. Drew here, managed to escape unharmed. But his brother, Sheldon, has just been admitted with a head concussion. He may be in here until the start of summer vacation."

Valerie told Bart, "I have to get back to work now." He nodded and she left. She didn't want to be at the hospital anymore. She was worried about Sheldon, worried for Karen. She was picturing her sitting at the airport in Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo, or wherever she was in Brazil, sobbing as she begged for tickets for the next flight to Empire City. She wondered where Polly was, if she was at home, or out running errands with Jeremy. _I should've asked Bart if he tried to contact Mother_, she thought. _He's her grandson, too, after all._ She couldn't concentrate on her driving. She slammed on her brakes, noticing she almost drove through a red light.

When she returned to Lancer and Sussex, Teresa greeted her and said, "Valerie, are you okay? Mr. Sussex said you had some kind of family emergency." She had a nonchalant look, nothing that even suggested any sympathy. _Typical of her_, she thought.

"Yeah, my nephew got attacked while stopping an impromptu raid of students at that St. Charles' Place mall," Valerie replied. "You really wouldn't be interested."

"Well, Mr. Lancer sent me to get you," Teresa said, "and when Matt told me you'd left, I was desperate to find out where you were. You know those magazine ads you worked on for Evie? Lancer got the call, and they've been approved for distribution."

It was as if Valerie had suddenly forgotten her family emergency. "Really? Oh my God, that's wonderful! I knew Ms. Quinette would go for them!" She was feeling very good, her first assignment in Empire City a success.

"Oh, I can't wait to tell Rhonda and the others when I get home!" she cried. "I can't wait to tell Karen when _she_ gets home! I have to tell Michelle and Margo; where are they?"

"In their offices," Teresa replied, and Valerie walked away fairly quickly.

* * *

On her way to pick up Jeremy, Valerie was thinking about Nicole and Caleb. Had the staff at their schools ever had to deal with these hypnotic tapes? Neither of them had mentioned anything about it to her. If they told their parents, then Rhonda and Richard certainly didn't relay it. Why, until she got that call about Sheldon, she never knew this case was even happening. And she wasn't the type to involve herself with the news; she thought it was too depressing. Still, she thought she should ask them about it. 

Her thinking changed to dinner when she drove back to Rhonda's house. She said, "Guess what, Jeremy? Remember those ads I was working on all last week? Those ones about the seasons?"

"Yes, Mom," he answered. "How did… everyone… like them?"

"They thought they were the best things I ever did," she answered, smiling. "They agreed to take them, and we'll be seeing them in all kinds of magazines."

Jeremy cheered. "That's great, Mom!"

"I'm thinking of maybe taking everyone out for dinner, maybe Chinese or pizza," she suggested. "To celebrate my first successful work here in Empire City."

"Chinese," Jeremy said. "I want… Chinese. I just hope… Uncle Richard… isn't planning… to cook… anything."

"I'll be sure to tell him. And we need to hear what your aunt and cousins want. But nothing beyond that, okay? I have a script for a TV commercial that's due tomorrow." Jeremy agreed.

As they walked inside, Valerie called, "Richard, I hope you're not starting any strange meals! I want to take everyone out for dinner as soon as Rhonda gets home from work!"

Richard met her in the front hall. "I take it we had a really good day at work?" he assumed.

"Well, it was almost perfect," she said. She told him about the meeting she had concerning her first advertisement job, and how their clients approved it for distribution. Then, she told him about Drew's phone call, the tapes, and what happened to Sheldon.

She was about to ask where Nicole and Caleb were, when she saw them standing at the kitchen archway. She knew both of them had heard; they looked horrified and worried for their cousin. Jeremy looked confused.

She motioned for Nicole and Caleb to sit with her at the table. Before she could say anything, Nicole asked, "Is Sheldon going to be okay? Aunt Karen and Uncle Bart must be freaking out."

Valerie nodded. "Aunt Karen is going to try to fly home tonight, or maybe tomorrow morning," she said. "Listen, have either of you heard anything about audio cassette tapes encouraging kids to leave school to steal."

"Our principal announced this over the speakers Friday morning," Nicole answered. "They must've played it over a tape recorder before they trashed it. Then, he told us about the 'questionable material' on the tape, and to be on the lookout for anyone suspicious coming through the front doors, and report anything shady to the office. You must've been at work when I told Daddy."

"She told me as soon as she came home," Richard added.

"My school's never gotten anything yet," Caleb said, "but we had an emergency assembly about it this morning. Our vice-principal told us about the crimes that all these kids were committing, and all because they were in a hypnotic trance and stuff. I knew it had to be that Big Boss guy behind this. I knew it from the moment I learned about this. Isn't he _always_ behind the bad stuff that happens here? They told us they will do something about it if they ever get one of those tapes."

Valerie nodded. "Well, I'm glad that your schools are taking evasive action towards this. And Nicole, it's good to know that you know what to do in an event like this. At least I won't have to worry about you and your peers."

"Thanks," Nicole said. "Oh, and by the way, congratulations on your first successful project here."

Valerie told them her dinner plans, and they both yelled out, "PIZZA!"

"I don't care, really," Richard said. "I like both pizza and Chinese food. That Marigold Room on Bickleson has pizza, fried chicken and fries in their dinner buffet. Maybe we can tell Rhonda when she gets home."

When Rhonda came home, she saw her family sitting in the kitchen, and no dinner being prepared. She threw her briefcase on a nearby chair and called, "It's five-thirty and nobody has started dinner yet!"

Richard smiled and said, "Rhonda, leave your coat on. Valerie's taking us out for dinner tonight. Those magazine ads she was working on last week, her first assignment – her clients just bought them."

Rhonda smiled at her sister. "That's wonderful, Valerie. But I hope we won't be doing this for every acceptance you have here. With your talent, it could get a mite expensive."

Valerie laughed. "Certainly not. Maybe in a couple months, when I get a pay raise." She took a breath. "So what do you say to the Marigold Room? Your kids want pizza and Jeremy wants Chinese. Their buffet has both."

"Actually, a few of my co-workers told me about this new buffet place on Sixth and Larose, Family Choices," Rhonda suggested. "Theirs is the largest – at least one hundred items."

"Actually, that's a better idea," Valerie said, and all the children nodded.

When they came back an hour later, Valerie took her laptop and briefcase to the dining room. She was starting work on her commercial script for "Pretty and Plump." She'd gone over a sheet of concept ideas – ranging from a fashion show, to a get-together barbeque, to a camping trip for twenty people – with Nicole and Caleb. They suggested the fashion show, and Nicole added, "It should be outdoors during the daytime, with a really cool-looking runway. Play techno music in the background throughout filming. And for irony, skinny models in the audience, to admire all the plus-sized fashions worn by all the beautiful, big people. If you can show that even skinny people like these fashions, it will probably get the customers buying."

Valerie liked this idea. She booted up her word processor, and took an envelope out of her briefcase. It contained pictures of clothes she was supposed to use in her commercial. She set aside a CD for song selections, and would ask Nicole to help her choose the music. She started typing.

She completed the first page when the phone rang. Caleb answered it. He asked who was calling, and seconds later, he said, "Mace? You mean Mace from C.O.P.S.? The same Mace from the police picnic? Wow, how awesome!"

Valerie was startled. She never expected Mace to call her while she was working. Her thinking suddenly shifted from her assignment to the phone call. She was finished her presentation speech for Evie the night before; why didn't he call then? She _knew_ he would be asking her out.

She heard Caleb said, "Yeah, Mace, she's right here. Aunt Valerie, phone for you!"

She suddenly became nervous on her way to the kitchen. She took the phone and read the caller ID on it. It read, _C. Howards_. "Hello?"

"Valerie, sweetheart, this is Mace," he replied. His voice sounded so gravely on the phone, she noted. _Is that supposed to be sexy?_ she thought. But she couldn't see his face. The video screen built in wasn't working.

"Mace, what a surprise," she replied, trying not to sound nervous. "But what's this _C. Howards_ I see on the caller ID?"

"Oh, so you figured out Mace is my code name, did you?" he said. "My real name is Colt."

"Colt?" she repeated. "Oh, that name sounds sexy." She decided to put a little sultriness in her voice.

"Yeah, well, I think you're beautiful, too," he replied. "I was thinking about you all day yesterday and today. Finally, I decided to come out with it and call you."

"Well, that was sweet."

"Valerie, you sound a bit nervous. Did I call at a bad time?"

"No, it's just that your call came unexpectedly. Actually, you called me in the middle of an assignment."

"Oh, God, I'm so sorry, baby."

_Baby?_ How was she supposed to respond to that? She decided to ignore it. "It's nothing, really. I'm just writing a script for a 45-second TV commercial. It shouldn't take me more than an hour."

"Well, I just called to see if you were available this Friday night. I'm thinking maybe dinner at Vivaldi Florentine. They've got the best Italian food there is. Then, I'm thinking maybe we could to the recreation centre downtown, and reserve an indoor pool for just the two of us, then back to my place for a movie. What do you say?"

"Indoor pool?" she repeated. _Great, he wants to have sex with me on the first date_, she thought. But she knew this was the perfect idea. "Sure, I'll go with swimming. Sure beats that old cliché of dinner and a movie."

"Great, so I'll pick you up at around six? What's your address?"

"906 Ravenell Street. Actually, why don't I just meet you at the restaurant, just in case you might not find my street."

"Sure, that'll be good. See you then, baby."

Baby. She heard the phone click off, and shuddered as she hung up. She wondered how strong Mace planned to come on to her that night. She went back to her laptop, forcing herself to continue with her script.

Halfway through the second page, the phone rang again. Rhonda answered it this time.

"She's rather busy, may I ask who's calling?" she asked the caller. "Can I take a message, or do you want to talk to her now?… All right, as you wish." She went to the dining room. "Valerie, telephone."

"Who is it?" Valerie asked.

"He calls himself Barricade, but it says _S. Hide_ on the ID," Rhonda answered.

Valerie went to the phone. She saw the caller ID confirmed Rhonda's truth. "Hello? Is this Barricade? This is Valerie."

"Hi," Barricade responded. "This might sound a little crazy, but I've been thinking about you this whole weekend. Even when I was working, I was always dreaming of your beautiful blonde locks and that sweet, innocent face of yours."

Valerie giggled and said, "That's so sweet. But, uh, you haven't told me your real first name yet. I mean, Barricade is obviously another code name, just like Mace. I take it you're the _S. Hide_ on the caller ID."

"That's right," Barricade replied. "The real name's Stan."

"Stan?" she repeated. "Stanley? Wow, that sounds so manly, so heroic." Deep down, she wanted to add, "And so bloody ancient, too. Wasn't 'Stanley' popular for newborn sons back in the Prohibition and Depression Eras?"

But she didn't want to make him feel old. Remembering his looks, he had to be at least in his early forties, she guessed. So instead, she said, "You know, I don't usually say this to men over the phone, but you sound rather sensual and sexy."

Barricade was surprised to hear that. "Why thank you, sweet lady," he replied. "You sound just perfect over the phone, too."

He cleared his throat and said, "Listen, I just checked my schedule, and I'm free Saturday afternoon. I was thinking maybe I could take you back to the park where we had that picnic, and we could take a stroll for real. You can bring Jeremy along, too. Then later, we can spend an hour at the zoo. He'll love that. I'll pick you up around noon?"

"Well, there's a commercial I'm assigned to do for a clothing store for this week," she told him, "but I can check my calendar." She excused herself to get her weekly appointment calendar. She opened it to the current week and checked the space marked Saturday. She had nothing written, so she wrote Barricade in for that day, as she did Mace for the day before.

"If my agency's video department plans to shoot this commercial on Saturday," she said, "pray that I'm not in charge of production, okay? I'm determined to keep this date." She sighed. "Oh, what am I saying? By the time we get the casting and set designs done for this thing, we'll probably be shooting on Monday."

Barricade laughed. "I would love to hear more about your work. Maybe we can discuss it over lunch at the park?"

"Love to," she replied. She gave him Rhonda's address and said, "I hope you're able to find it."

"Ravenall Street?" Barricade said. "I remember patrolling that neighborhood long ago, as a rookie cop. Hope my memory doesn't fail me. I don't want to get lost."

"I hope not either," Valerie laughed. "I don't like being stood up. See you Saturday."

"See you, darling," he said, and they hung up.

Valerie danced back into the dining room. She saw Rhonda and Richard watching a movie in the living room. She said, "Rhonda, what do you say we save the house hunting for Sunday afternoon? Remember those policemen that Cindy and Elise introduced to me at the picnic? I have a date with one of them Saturday afternoon."

"Let me guess, is it Barricade?" Rhonda asked. "Don't think I didn't hear you talking like that, all sexy-like."

"Barricade was the one being sexy, sis," Valerie corrected. "And he did it so well. You should have heard his voice. He had _me_ swept off my feet, let me tell you! If he kisses on the first date, I won't be surprised if it's long and lustrous."

She continued typing up her script, and was almost finished the second page when the phone rang again. She got up and announced, "I'll get it this time! I think I know who it is." If she had given Barricade, Mace and Sundown her temporary number, and Mace and Barricade had already confirmed dates with her, then she was starting to sense a pattern. This time, the caller ID read _W. Calhoun_.

She answered, and heard the caller's Texan twang in his voice. "Hello. May I speak with Miss Valerie, please?"

"Sundown, is this you?" she asked. "Because I remember you calling me 'Miss Valerie' shortly before I gave you my number. And another thing, you can drop the 'Miss' part and just call me 'Valerie.' This isn't a western movie. Oh, and one more thing, about this _W. Calhoun_ on the ID…"

"You've figgered it out, didn't you?" Sundown guessed. "Sundown's a code name that Bulletproof gave me when I joined C.O.P.S.. The real name's Walker, but you can call me Sundown. I actually prefer that."

"All right, Walker," Valerie answered. She snickered, then started laughing. "Walker! Now, 'Walker' as a last name, I can understand. 'Walker' as a first name, now that's fucking weird. You know, I think I will call you Sundown. It sure sounds sexier than Walker!" She laughed again.

Sundown sounded displeased. "'Fuckin' weird?'" he repeated. "Now, Valerie, that ain't no way for a lady to talk!"

She suddenly became embarrassed. "Sorry," she muttered. "I guess you're a stickler on gentlemanlike behavior around ladies. You originated from the South, didn't you?"

"Sure did," he answered. "I came from Texas, and us Texan boys were brought up to have respect for ladies. I know you're gonna love me. I know exactly how to treat a lady right. Especially one as stunningly beautiful as you. Ooh, but I just couldn't git you out of my head since the day we met."

Valerie blushed so much, her cheeks looked like fresh roses. "Why, thank you," she said. "I never knew authority figures like you were so romantic."

"Hey, helpin' and carin' for others is part of our line of work," Sundown replied. "But enough chit-chat. I'm thinkin' you an' me, this Saturday evenin'. Picnic dinner on the beach, and we can watch the sunset, then a night a ballroom dancin' What d'ya say?"

"I'd love to," Valerie replied, surprised. "I've definitely got nothing Saturday night. Hold on." She re-opened her calendar, found the page with Mace and Barricade's dates and wrote Sundown in on Saturday. "What time should we meet?"

"How's seven sound for ya?" Sundown asked.

"Seven sounds great," she answered, writing the time in. "Will you be picking me up, or do you want me to drive to the shore so you can meet me there?"

"I wanna meet you there," he answered. "I promise you, Valerie, my dramatic entrance will have you drawn to me. Believe me, we'll be makin' sweet love as the sun goes down, just you an' me."

Valerie couldn't believe Sundown's last proposal. Another policeman who wanted sex on the first date, though Sundown sounded a bit classier about it than Mace. She tried to think of something nice to say. Finally, she said, "Sundown, if you're as romantic as you sound on this phone…"

"Then you'll realize I'm a man of my word," he replied. "Can't wait to see ya." He said goodbye and hung up.

Valerie slowly hung up her phone. She felt like ice cream melting in the summer warmth. Sundown's promises and telephone etiquette made her think there could be a passionate, romantic future for her with him. She was picturing him on the cover of those western-based romance books, bare-chested in a white cowboy hat and boot-cut jeans, practicing his gun-slinging in the beautifully-colored sunset.

She found herself sitting on the floor, moaning in ecstasy and calling Sundown's name. Rhonda and Richard went to the kitchen to see her. Rhonda picked her up and asked, "Are you okay, Valerie?"

"I'm better than okay," Valerie replied. "I'm in heaven. Sundown just called me. He wants to have a beach picnic with me Saturday evening, following by lovemaking in the sunset. And to top it all off, in case I never told you, I'm also going out with Mace Friday night."

"Shit, Valerie!" Rhonda blurted. "Three dates with three different men all in one weekend. You're going to have one hell of a reputation come Monday morning. Trust me, it'll be the worst Monday of your life."

She and her husband picked Valerie and took her back to dining room. Rhonda sat her back down while Richard splashed some cold water on her face. When she was revived, she looked at her laptop, her commercial script, and started working on it again.

* * *

Okay, if you think the phone conversations were hot this chapter, I promise the dates will get even hotter. Look for an update soon. Thanks! 


	5. Dinner And Desire With Mace

**Author's Note:** Hi, friends, I'm here with Chapter Five! So I promised that Valerie's romances would start to get hot and, as you can see by the pool scene in this chapter, I delivered. **CAUTION: **This chapter contains romantic sexual scenes, but like I said earlier, it's not pornography. And the romance is only going to get steamier as the story progresses. So, to all the God-obsessed, uber-Christian, religious fanatic readers who are so afraid of even a _HINT_ of sexuality, (think Margaret White from Stephen King's _Carrie_) if you don't like what you read here, I invite you to stop at the end of Mace and Valerie's dinner and go read something a little more toned-down. I do NOT want to get into trouble and have this story (and possibly my ID) removed because some obsessive whack-job decided to read this chapter and "report possible abuse" at the bottom of their screens. I will be quite upset if I see this happening to me. To everyone else, read and enjoy, and don't forget to review.

* * *

Chapter 5

Friday afternoon, 2:30 PM. Only three and a half hours until her date with Mace. Valerie was looking forward to it all week, and her Saturday with Barricade and Sundown. She was hoping her commercial assignment wouldn't conflict with any of it. Especially not Saturday afternoon, when they'll either be still working on set design or starting filming. She didn't want to stand Barricade up. She thought about Jeremy. When she told him of her plans the morning after she made the dates, he was screaming with happiness.

"Please, Mom," he begged. "Please say… you'll… marry… one of… the C.O.P.S. I want… one of… the good guys… for a… dad." Then, his eyes began to look like that of a baby deer. "Please?"

His cousins laughed. "You really do like them that much, don't you?" Caleb asked. "Which one do you want your mom to marry?" Jeremy just looked at his cousin and mother with wide eyes, and a pout that looked more like a puppy dog plea. Obviously to Valerie, he didn't care, just so long as that man wasn't romantically involved with anyone.

She decided she didn't want to deny her son a chance to bond with Barricade, at least. She couldn't. She asked Matt about the commercial.

"Uh, Matt," she said, "about the commercial, you and I won't be working on it over the weekend, will we?"

Matt laughed very loudly. "Well, let's see," he replied. "You gave me the script Tuesday morning, which I approved of immediately after reading. Tuesday afternoon and all of Wednesday, you did casting calls, we selected the music, and I researched all the set designing companies and called the best one. Yesterday, we went over locations, selected Empire City Park, and got a city permit. They've just started building the set, which I'm supposed to help oversee. You will be in charge of production, which we're doing on Monday. So, _I'm_ the one who has to work all weekend, not you." He chuckled, then grinned. "I take it _you_ have plans."

"Big ones." She never told him about whom she was going to be with that weekend. She didn't like to talk about her personal business during working time, about as much as she didn't like to hear about anyone else's. Instead, she just said, "Let's just say I'm taking a major jump back into the social scene."

"Without me?" he teased. "Listen, Val, I'm just as divorced as you are. You could always make a date with me. How about dinner and a drink, babe?"

"Not that kind of date," she laughed. "It's the kind I don't do with co-workers."

* * *

An hour and a half later, Valerie was driving home, her spirits high enough to be sitting on clouds. She was listening to some old pop music, the kind teenaged girls listened to back in the 1990's and early 2000's. She was listening to a song by Hoku, _Perfect Day_. The song fit her happy mood. Not only did she have her date, but today, she finally found a school for the handicapped that would see her about Jeremy. She was trying to concentrate on her driving, but was singing along to the music. She threw herself a dance party in her head. 

She suddenly stopped singing when she stopped at a red light. Her appointment with Jeremy's school was Wednesday afternoon. Did she remember to tell Mr. Lancer that she needed that afternoon off? She turned down the music, pulled out her cell phone, and dialed the agency. She heard Teresa answer and rolled her eyes.

"I need to speak with Mr. Lancer please?" Valerie said.

"All right, but first, you must hear this juicy piece of gossip I just heard from one of my secretarial crew, Selma," Teresa replied. Apparently, her neighbor, his girlfriend, and a few of her preachy mother friends…"

"_Now, Teresa!_" she ordered. Teresa put her on hold, and she heard Mr. Lancer's voice seconds later."

"Mr. Lancer, it's Valerie," she said. "Listen, before I left, I forgot to tell you that I have an appointment with Prince Richard's School for the Handicapped at 1:30 this coming Wednesday afternoon." She was checking her calendar. "I'm supposed to be going with Jeremy, and I was wondering if I could have the afternoon off. I know I haven't earned it… yet, but this is really important."

"I see," he answered. "Well, Matt says you're supposed to be filming on Monday, and considering all the work you've done this week, I say we're going just as scheduled. Of course you've earned this appointment. You've kept us on top as usual."

"Thank you, sir," Valerie said. Just then, she heard another car honking the horn. She excused herself and turned her head out the window."

"Let's move it!" he screamed. "The light just turned green!"

"I'm on my cell here!" she screamed back. "Don't you try to rain on _my_ perfect day!" She quickly concluded her conversation, hung up and rolled up her window. "Dumb fucktard."

She got back to the house with Jeremy at just after 4:30. Less than ninety minutes until her date. She needed a shower, a bathing suit and towel, a change of makeup, and a kicky, yet dressy evening outfit.

After her shower, she went to her bedroom. Just as she was putting her underwear back on, she heard a knock. She opened the door a peep and saw Rhonda.

"May I come in?" Rhonda asked.

"I'm in my undergarments, Rhonda!" Valerie replied hostilely. "Jesus, I need my privacy." She slammed the door. "We can carry on a conversation through the door if we talk loud enough. What is it?"

"I still don't understand why Mace isn't picking you up," Rhonda said. "What kind of gentleman doesn't pick up a lady for dinner?"

"God, Rhonda, you're so old-fashioned," Valerie replied. "Mace and I just agreed to meet at Vivaldi Florentine, that's all."

"That's another thing, sis. Do you even _know_ where Vivaldi Florentine is? You've only been here two weeks."

Valerie opened her door just a little, revealing part of her face and her bare left arm. "Well, I secretly told Elise about this when I asked for directions to the restaurant. She said it's located on Amazon Avenue, where all those fancy restaurants and hotels are. It's about six streets north from the one Lancer and Sussex is on." She closed the door again. "I haven't driven past it since I started taking Jeremy to Karen's before work. I used to when I took him to Mother's, though."

"Speaking of Karen," Rhonda said, "I called her on my lunch hour, just to see how she is. She's been sounding awful chipper since she came home. That's pretty quick for a mother like her to recover. Sheldon's still in the hospital."

"Well, looking after Jeremy obviously worked wonders for her, didn't it?" Valerie replied. "She's said that looking after Jeremy makes her so happy." She paused. "Anyway, so Elise couldn't believe it when I told her I've never been down Amazon before. It's about twelve buildings away when I turn right on Knightley, the street I use on my route to work and back. She and Longarm had been to Vivaldi the weekend Jeremy and I came here, and she recommended this chicken spaghetti dish to me. She says it tastes fabulous."

She opened the door and stuck her hand out. "While you're out there, could you also hand me a large, fresh towel from the linen closet? Mace also wants to go swimming."

"Hang on." Rhonda opened the closet for a plain purple towel, extra large size. She went to the kitchen for a plastic grocery bag, stuffed the towel in it, and brought it back to her sister. "There. You want to borrow a bathing suit, too?"

"Nah, I've got lots here. Thanks." She took the bag in her room and shut the door.

Twenty minutes later, Valerie came out of her room in a white dress with colorful circles linked together like a chain. She was wearing a necklace and earrings made of sapphires, rubies, emeralds and diamonds. Her hair was curly, and her scarlet red lipstick and blue mascara were beautifully noticeable. She was holding her bag with swimming gear.

"Oh my God!" Rhonda exclaimed. "Is that my sister, or is that Sarah Jessica Parker from way back when?"

Valerie laughed and replied, "Actually, I think I look more like Jean Harlow from those old movies."

Rhonda followed her into the living room. "Come on, Val. I don't think Jean Harlow would wear clothes like that."

When they arrived, they noticed Nicole, Caleb and Jeremy watching television. Valerie clapped her hands, and they turned to see her.

"Wow!" Caleb exclaimed. "That is beautiful. Mace is going to love it."

"Who's Mace?" Nicole asked. Caleb elbowed her in her ribs.

"He's on Bulletproof Vess' team of C.O.P.S.," he reminded her. "We've seen him and others around, remember? And Aunt Valerie has a date with him tonight."

Nicole slapped her head. "Oh, right!" She studied her aunt's look. "Um, Aunt Valerie, I must say I love that dress. You think it'll fit me when I have my prom night? But I think the lipstick may be too much." She folded a piece of paper and had Valerie bite on it. Afterwards, "Much better."

Rhonda looked at the time on the VCR. It read quarter after five. "How about I drop you off at the restaurant at a little after five-thirty?" she asked. "Because if I know Mace, being that he's a man and all, he'll be showing up in one of his fancy cars, ready to whisk you around town from the restaurant."

Valerie chuckled. "Or it could be an ordinary blue Honda," she suggested. "I doubt someone like him would drive anything so flashy."

She never said anything more until they left. She was thinking about Karen, and how happy she'd been since Jeremy started spending days at her house. She remembered the houses she looked at on her first weekend in Empire City. She wondered how many already got sold. She thought about 181 Turin Lane, the one with the blue living room, the candy in the refrigerator, and the purple bedroom. She wondered if someone else had already taken it. She decided to ask Rhonda about it.

In Rhonda's car, just as they turned the corner off her street, Valerie asked, "Rhonda, remember all those houses we looked at my first weekend here? The ones in Karen's neighborhood?"

"Have you decided already?" Rhonda asked. "You haven't even looked at all the other available houses."

"Yeah, well I've been thinking about it," Valerie said, "and seeing Karen's face light up every time I drop Jeremy off, and hearing all the wonderful things they've done together when I pick him up – well, it's finally convinced me that it's time to move into that new house. I know it's only been three days, but I think that's good enough."

Rhonda thought about it at a red light. "Well… if you think it's best."

"Besides," said Valerie, "if my date with Mace goes well, it may lead to something more, and I'll be needing space of my own. I can't… well… you know… under your roof."

Rhonda's eyes widened. "I see," she said. "Well, I hope you're not interested in those two shit pits on Seville Street. One of them had all that mold and rotting wood, and the electric fixtures were installed all wrong. Those last homeowners must have moved out in a motherfucking hurry. And that other one with creaking stairs, and weak wood fixtures that also creaked in the basement ceiling. I suspect the wood was also rotten, and all the Plexiglas was soaked and moldy. I've tried getting City Hall to get the real contractors to go out and fix this, but that fucking Mayor Davis is too goddamn preoccupied with cutting costs for some stupid political gains! I hope Wesley Silverfield – he's one of Empire City's most passionate, caring lawyers – runs for office and gets him the hell out!"

"Actually, I was talking about 181 Turin Lane. You know, the one with the living room that looked like the ocean, and that master bedroom I wanted to decorate in purple? The very first house we looked at?"

Rhonda's eyes widened again. "Oh, _that_ one! Well, yeah, it's still available. I've showed it to other clients, and mentioned that you wanted it as well. There was this middle-aged couple that agreed with you about that wall unit in the living room. They said it should be tossed out, and a fancier one put in, one to give the room that 'ocean' feel."

"I'll take it!" Valerie said excitedly. "And you and I can meet with Karen on Sunday to see about furniture." Rhonda nodded and replied, "It's a deal."

They arrived at Vivaldi shortly after. When Valerie got out, she said, "There won't be any need to pick me up, sis. I'm sure Mace will be able to drive me home. See you later tonight." She watched Rhonda drive off.

She looked at her bag of swimming gear and checked her watch. It was close to six, and Mace hadn't shown up yet. She didn't know what kind of non-police car he drove. She shrugged and took her bag into the restaurant.

"Table for two, please," she told the seating person. She gave him her swimming bag. "I am waiting for a man named Colt Howards; he also goes by the nickname, 'Mace.' Would you please have the valet put this in the trunk of his car when he arrives?"

She was led to a table in the back of the room. It had a white tablecloth with red and green stripes, reminiscent of the Italian flag. The silverware was wrapped in a red napkin with a white bow. In the middle was an electric candle. She sat and waited.

Minutes later, she heard a man call her name in a gravely voice. She turned to see Mace. He was wearing a dark gray suit with a silver and black tie, and no cap or sunglasses. He had a big, happy smile, and kissed the back of her hand.

"Ooh, but you look so beautiful tonight," he cooed. He sat across from Valerie.

"Thank you, Colt… or do you prefer Mace?" she said.

"Please, call me Mace," he said. "Everyone else does."

A formally dressed waiter came, filled two waterglasses for Mace and Valerie, and presented two menus. Valerie opened it to the pasta section while Mace ordered champagne. "The best brand you have here," he said.

When the champagne bucket arrived with two glasses, Valerie said, "Look what it says for the chicken spaghetti. _'Angel haired noodles mixed with roasted chicken breast in a creamy fettuccine alfredo sauce.'_ Elise said it is fabulous." She immediately turned to the waiter and took her order.

Mace, however, wasn't ready to order yet. He looked at the price for Valerie's order. It cost seventy-five dollars. He looked in his wallet. Thank God he had a MasterVisa card. Still, he decided to find something less expensive. He found a lasagna with meatballs platter that cost fifty dollars. Minutes later, the waiter came back and Mace took his order.

After he poured the champagne, Mace said to Valerie, "So, Valerie, tell me a little more about yourself. I already got this 'divorced with a kid' thing."

"Well," Valerie began, "I'm project manager at the Lancer and Sussex advertising agency. It actually came with the transfer. Back in Parrish, I was just one of the workers being supervised, but I've gotten great performance reports my whole career – which I earned, mind you. They said I was very creative with the best ideas, tireless and a quick worker, often getting things done a day _before_ the deadline."

"Impressive," Mace grinned. "I like a hard-working woman."

Valerie blushed and continued, "After I filed for divorce from Tom, I threw myself into the agency, getting more done in my eight-hour workdays. I felt I had to, since I knew I would be on my own with Jeremy, and I couldn't trust Tom to raise a barn with fifty Amish men. In mid-April, my old boss told me that I was being transferred here with this position and a higher salary." She proceeded to tell him about her first assignment.

"That's so wonderful," Mace said. "I can't wait to see your ads in magazines."

She decided against telling him about her current project. She knew people could bore dates if they talked about their careers too much, no matter how exciting they could be. But before she could say anything more, Mace said, "So, tell me about Jeremy. The C.O.P.S. team and I met him through Tyler at the picnic before you came to pick him up. He seems like a special little boy."

"You don't know how special he is," Valerie replied. "He's had Shaken Baby Syndrome since he was an infant. He's very smart, but he doesn't apply himself very well at school. He can't run very fast, he's not athletic at all, and he talks very slowly, although I can understand what he's saying. But that all comes from the brain damage he has."

She started telling him about how Tom left her when she was pregnant, and the cruelty she endured after Jeremy was born. She was getting so emotional as she told him about the beatings Jeremy endured, and the put-downs and harsh criticism Tom lashed at her about her parenting. Mace rubbed her shoulder, stopping her before she could start crying.

"Don't get all worked up," he said. "Your husband's gone now. I know all about it, and believe me, I ain't happy with it either."

Now Valerie looked like she really wanted to cry and scream. She hated doing that in public, it always embarrassed her. She suddenly wished she never told Cindy and Elise about Tom when she was telling them about herself. Before she could, Mace got up to hold her.

"If I ever see him, I'll kick his goddamn ass," he promised her. "I'll make him pay child support if you want me to."

"No, I don't want his dirty money," she said.

"He has to, you know that!" he insisted. "Whether he wants to admit it or not, Jeremy's his kid, too."

She stared at his solemn face. "Yeah, Mace, I guess you're right."

"No, Valerie, I know I'm right. I may not know much about kids, but I know a father has to take responsibility for his kid if there's ever to be a happy family."

Valerie became happier when the food arrived. The spaghetti and chicken looked appealing to her in the fettuccine sauce. "Oh, it looks so much better than it would in tomato sauce," she commented.

"I heard they used to use tomato sauce in the chicken spaghetti until this year," Mace said. "They must've changed to fettuccine sauce at customer's suggestions."

She tasted some spaghetti laden with the sauce. "Oh, the customers were right!" she said ravenously.

Then, she stared at Mace's dinner. "I've never seen lasagna with meatballs before. Since when were they doing that?"

"They've been doin' that for years now," he answered. He tipped his plate in her direction. "Wanna try some?"

"Only if you're willing to try my spaghetti," she grinned.

They made room on their plates, then each took a forkful of noodles and a couple pieces of meat, and gave them to each other. She ate a lasagna noodle covered into sauce and a meatball at the same time. He ate a sauce-covered spaghetti noodle with some chicken.

Valerie could feel her throat getting hot. "My God, that's so spicy!" she said softly. She took a quick drink of water and a sip of champagne. "Honestly, I don't know how you men handle it."

Meanwhile, Mace had a good feeling with the spaghetti. "Oh, the sauce tastes so right with this chicken and noodles," he said. "Who recommended this to you?"

"Elise did, as soon as I told her you were taking me here," she answered.

"Damn, I can see why!" he exclaimed. "Next time I come here, I'm orderin' this."

Valerie drank some more champagne and said, "So, Mace, why don't you tell me a little more about the case you and the other C.O.P.S. are working on. The one about the tapes hypnotizing youths to steal. The day you asked me out, I learned that these tapes caused some thieving students to hurt my nephew, Sheldon."

Mace smiled and said, "Today, we managed to catch the person sending them to the schools. We got a call from a junior high school in the suburb of Taylor Heights. A twelve-year-old boy came into the front office and managed to take off the man's hat, while he was arguin' with the school principal about playing the tape he sent. The principal locked the man into the copier room while his secretary called us. After we arrested him, we also had a confession from Dr. Badvibes that he was the voice hypnotizin' the kids."

Valerie smiled back. "That's great! Now I won't have to worry about my other nephews, Drew and Caleb. Or my niece, Nicole. Or Jeremy." She paused. "Um, you never got any calls from Nicole and Caleb's schools have you? Broad Silver Star High School and Peter Lowell Middle School?"

Mace shook his head. "Nope. Never got calls from those places. At least I never heard anything about them from Bulletproof."

She looked at her spaghetti and had an idea. "Oh, Mace, you remember that really old kid's movie _Lady and the Tramp_? Remember that scene where they were at that restaurant eating the spaghetti? You want to try that?"

"How do you do it?" he asked.

Valerie invited Mace to move his chair over next to hers. She forked out one really long strand of spaghetti, and put one end of it in her mouth. He caught on to it, and put the other end in his mouth. When they were ready, they nibbled the strand bit by bit as their lips got closer to each other.

The next they knew, they met in the middle of the strand and found themselves kissing. It was a deep and passionate kiss, one they seemed lost in each other in, and wondered how long they'd keep up. Valerie could feel Mace's big, strong hands holding her as his mouth stayed on hers.

"Oh, Mace," she whispered.

She started believing that he must have dated a lot, if he could kiss like that. But did she really want to ask about his personal past? The way he held her when she talked about Tom, and the things he said, made her believe that he cared about her. Now with this kiss, she believed that maybe it was love, that he really loved her.

She knew Mace was very good-looking and physically strong. She'd heard that _this_ cop had a tough attitude on the job. But tonight, she learned that the strong and tough in duty lines can be sweet and loving when off their jobs.

Suddenly, they were interrupted by their waiter. "I hate to interrupt this private moment," he told them, "but your dinners may be getting cold."

Mace and Valerie looked at their food, and realized he was right. Mace quickly moved his chair back, and they finished quickly, yet mannerly.

* * *

"I can't believe it!" Valerie exclaimed as she and Mace got into his car. "Two hundred sixty-five dollars just for one meal? Our food didn't even cost all that much! I should write to the fucking restaurant bureau! One hundred forty dollars for a bottle of champagne? I can understand that if this were Naples or Rome, Italy! But that's too damn much for America! Thank God they took your credit card, Mace!" 

"Hopefully, the rec center pool will be cheaper," Mace said. "Sorry if that was a bit much for you, Valerie."

"Next time we go out for dinner, let's try a hotel restaurant, okay?" she suggested. "It'll be less expensive. I don't like it when a man spends so much cash on me. And I hate women who make men think they have to afford them. As if men are made of money!"

"Yeah, I don't like to spoil women too much, either," Mace agreed. "It can only forecast what she'll want to do with our kids!"

Valerie looked at Mace driving. _He should be okay,_ she thought. _He only sipped one glass of champagne. That's not too bad, is it?_ She only had two, not enough to get drunk, but enough to probably get stopped and charged for driving while under the influence. She hated taking those kinds of risks. She put her arm around Mace, thankful for such graciousness.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at the Empire City Recreation Center. As Mace parked his car, he spied two really ugly men getting out of a black van across the street, about fifteen feet away. He and Valerie got out, and they stared at the men for a few minutes. Their backs were turned to them, but Mace could identify them by their clothes. A tall man in a purple fedora and trenchcoat, and a muscular blond younger guy in a blue jacket and white pants.

Valerie squinted at them and asked, "Who _are_ those bozos?"

Mace pointed at them and answered, "The one in the trenchcoat is Buttons McBoomBoom, and the guy in the blue and white is Berserko. I'd be careful around those guys if I were you. They're really sharp crooks, they work for the Big Boss, and you don't know what they're capable of." He retrieved their bags of swimming gear.

Suddenly, they saw Buttons and Berserko look up at them. Horrified, Mace said, "Shit! Valerie, they saw us! Quick, let's get inside! I don't want those two dirtbags ruinin' our date!" He took her arm and they rushed into the center.

Buttons and Berserko were on an assignment to find the jewelry store with an expensive jewel called the Diamond Sun in the window, and steal it. When they saw Mace and Valerie together, they suddenly forgot about the diamond and walked to that building. It was Valerie they wanted.

Inside, they were stopped by the workers at the front desk. One of them said, "Hold it. We got word about you two from a Sgt. Colt 'Mace' Howards. We're to turn you in to the police." But Buttons stopped them.

"It ain't the cop we want," he said. "We're interested in the girl he's with." He found Mace's name in an open page in the registration book. "Ah, so they're at the swimmin' pool. That's good. Do you have a long rope an' a grapplin' hook?"

* * *

Just before they went into their locker rooms, Valerie said to Mace, "Listen, I don't think you should report those two guys to Bulletproof, at least not yet." 

"Are you nuts, sweetheart?" Mace objected. "What if those two are armed? They usually are! What if they come after us? I may be off duty, but I still have to report their presence in this area."

They looked down the pool entrance hall. All they saw were three people walking past, probably going to the washrooms.

"Mace, we came here to have fun," Valerie insisted. "Share some romance. Forget about them for a while." She grinned. "You probably will when you see me in my swimsuit."

She took only five minutes to change clothes. It was a purple bikini with a button hook at the front. There was no mirror, so she looked down at her body. She couldn't see her stomach beyond her double-D bosoms. She headed to the shower to wet down her face and hair. After two minutes, she stepped onto the pool deck. Mace hadn't shown up. She waited outside the men's locker room.

Moments later, Mace came out in black and white-striped Speedo, soaked from his shower. Valerie was immediately attracted to his beefcake chest and abdominals. He turned sideways and flexed for her, grinning. She was fanning her face, as if she was suddenly getting hot. She tried to suppress her sexual feelings, wanting to unleash them in the pool. She thought she was feeling the effects from her shower drying up.

"Oh, Mace!" she moaned ecstatically. "Mace, you're _gorgeous_!" She put her hands on his shoulders and kissed him long and lustrous. He wrapped his arms around her, feeling her back. She moved her hands down to his biceps and grabbed onto them. She'd wanted to feel his "pipe" muscles since he flexed. Until she saw him in his swimsuit, she never realized just how sexy Colt "Mace" Howards could be.

He broke the kiss just long enough to whisper to her, "Baby, you look gorgeous, too. You look so beautiful in that bikini."

They went out to the shallow end of the pool. No one else was there but them. Valerie asked Mace, "Is this how you planned it? A private swim, just the two of us?"

"I personally requested it," he answered. "I thought it'd be nice if we used this otherwise public spot as our own personal aquatic love lounge."

She swam out to a deeper part of the pool. "You've thought of everything."

She looked up at the ceiling. It was mostly a large dome with six columns of five windows each. They all had bright fluorescent lighting in between them. Valerie had never seen a dome like that before, but she was enamored by the colors of the evening sky.

"Look how beautiful it is, Mace," she said. "Oh, but I could stare at this all the time."

Mace brought her head down so she was looking at his face. "It will never, ever be as beautiful as you," he told her. "Never." She put her hands around his neck and kissed him.

Unbeknownst to Mace and Valerie, Buttons and Berserko were on the roof, looking at the lovers through the windows. Buttons was talking with Big Boss on his cell phone. He had reported that he found, "something much better than the Diamond Sun."

"One of those C.O.P.S. just came here with a beautiful woman," he'd told him. "At least, I _think_ it's one of the C.O.P.S.; they rushed into this place as soon as we saw them."

"Really?" Big Boss asked in his gangster accent. "What she look like?"

"Uh, all I can see is her blonde hair," Buttons answered. "Long an' beautiful, though." He spoke lower, "C'mon, baby, look up for Buttons."

"Hey, look, Buttons!" Berserko called from the other side. He was staring at the floating devices. "That pool's got them little surfboards and big colorful rods. And look, they've also got them big floating beds."

"Shut up, Berserko!" Buttons hissed.

Valerie was still swimming with Mace, looking away from the ceiling. She was straddled on his back as he was swimming as fast as a dolphin. He dove underwater, and Buttons followed them along the pool's edge, waiting for them to come up.

But Mace and Valerie didn't come up for about three minutes. When they did, it was only to get some air, wipe the water out of their eyes, and kiss sensually for only a minute. They still didn't know that Buttons and Berserko were watching them. Soon, Valerie pressed on Mace's chest. He was leaning back down into the water, and she went under with him, preparing for more lovemaking.

Buttons started getting impatient. "Dammit!" he mused. "I'll bet they went back down to fuck some more!"

"Well, she better hurry up and show herself!" Big Boss snapped. "I can't take the suspense!"

Mace and Valerie stayed down for two more minutes. All they did during that time was make passionate love, writhing around body to body under the water. Though they never took each other's clothes off, they were touching and kissing each other's bare skin. He was kissing her neck, shoulders and cleavage, while she was kissing his neck, still pressing on his chest.

When they came back up, they were in the deep end of the pool. They noticed some rafts shaped like beds, and Valerie asked, "Do you want to get one? Lie on it as we float? Then we can look up at the beautiful sky through the glass ceiling." Mace agreed, so they swam to the steps, and climbed out. They saw a raft big enough for two people, lying on the far side of the deck. They carried it back to the shallow end, still not noticing Buttons and Berserko watching them.

Meanwhile, Buttons was ready to give up. "When the fuck are they gonna look up?" he muttered. "It shouldn't have to take this long for her to notice us. C'mon, sweetheart, show us your tits, and show us now!" Suddenly, "She's getting out now, Big Boss.… Whoa! She's got some curves." He was staring at Valerie's cleavage.

"Hey, Buttons!" Berserko observed. "The two lovebirds is getting one of those floating beds!"

"What!" Buttons soon noticed Mace and Valerie carrying their raft back to the pool. "Great, now maybe she'll finally look up.… Okay, Big Boss, now they've got the raft into the pool, they're getting on, they're… oh, shit, they're on their sides, doin' it again. Oh, but I do like what I see here. Check out those legs!" He put the cell phone to the window so Big Boss could have a look.

Big Boss was immediately smitten by the sight of Valerie Boston. But he looked at her raftmate, and immediately identified him as Mace. He paused the video so he could print out a picture of the two. He immediately started thinking about his "jewel thief" follower, Nightshade.

He said to Buttons, "Buttons, that _is_ one of the C.O.P.S. she's with! That's Mace, isn't it?"

Buttons stared at Mace and said, "I can't tell, Big Boss. I ain't ever seen any of those C.O.P.S. with their clothes off before."

"That _is_ Mace! I can tell by the hair color and body mass!" Big Boss insisted. "Didn't Nightshade say something about having a romance with that guy?"

Meanwhile, at the pool, Valerie was positioning herself on her back, looking up at the sky. She saw Buttons and Berserko looking at them through the windows and screamed. She pointed at them and shouted, "Look, Mace! Peeping toms!"

Mace looked up, and was not happy with what he saw. "Shit!" he cried. "It's Buttons McBoomBoom and Berserko! What the fuck are they _doin'_ here? And is that a video cell in Buttons' hand? Don't tell me the Big Boss is gettin' a look at us, too!"

Buttons and Berserko, however, seemed to enjoy Valerie's horrified reaction, though it was actually her body they were concentrating on. "Jackpot!" Buttons declared, "Christ, Big Boss, willya _look_ at those tits? Not a bad-lookin' bikini either! Now if only she could take off that top!"

Furious that two of Big Boss' followers were spying on him and Valerie, Mace started to get off the raft. "I have to go tell Bulletproof," he said.

But Valerie had an idea. She quickly positioned herself on top of him and said, "You can tell Bulletproof later! Let's distract them. Maybe if they get the idea you're already taken, they'll go away. She soon felt her breasts pressed against his chest, and started to kiss his lips and chin.

But Buttons was enjoying this sight, too. "Wow, thanks for the back view, baby!" he said. "Now, there's an ass I'd like to tap!"

After a few moments, Big Boss decided he'd seen enough. "Forget the Diamond Sun, youse guys," he said. "It's that woman I want now! Come down from there and get back to my headquarters now!"

"Right, boss," Buttons said. He clicked the cell phone off, grabbed Berserko, and they climbed back down.

Meanwhile, Valerie was so enamored by Mace's body. She was kissing and rubbing him all over his shoulders, chest and abdominals again. She brought her hands back upon his chest, circling around his nipples with her index finger. She was gliding her finger down to his belly, swirling around his belly button until her finger went into it.

"Oh, Mace!" she whispered. "Mace, I still can't get over that gorgeous body. Oh, Mace, I love you."

After fifteen minutes, Mace noticed Buttons and Berserko were gone, so he said, "Uh, Valerie. Baby, I think they're gone. Now, may I call Bulletproof and tell him what I saw?"

She looked up and realized he was right. She smiled and said, "Don't be silly. Let's not let those two assholes spoil all our fun." She looked at the Jacuzzi in the far corner. "How about an hour in the hot tub, then you can call him when we leave. Those privacy-invading perverts will still be fresh in our minds then, I'll bet."

They got out of the pool, went to the Jacuzzi, lifted the cover off, then Mace turned on the jets. He put his foot in. The bubbly water felt like a hot bath or shower. He stepped in, took Valerie's hand to bring her in, then they sat down and continued to make out.

"Oh, if only we had champagne and two glasses, this would be completely romantic," she said. Without replying, Mace kissed her, and they continued making love. They were in there for what seemed to be over an hour; they didn't care about losing track of time. After the Jacuzzi, Mace decided it was time to take Valerie back to his home, to finish off the night.

* * *

Yeah, I originally wanted to add Valerie's dates with Barricade and Sundown here. But as written here, I had some other stuff to show at the start of the chapter, and it got a bit long in the process. So they will be carried over into the next chapter. See you then, and have a happy Easter! ;) 


	6. A Day With Barricade, A Night With Sundo...

**A/N:** OK, so I've been checking my Yahoo! Mail, and the only things I've gotten from this site so far were replies for reviews for stories and chapters I've reviewed while writing this one. NO ONE has left any reviews for Chapter 5, or any other one of my stories, since the last update! And where has skyefire gone lately, I wonder? Methinks her computer hasn't been cooperating lately? And is anyone else even noticing this – or the C.O.P.S sub-category? Anyway, here's #6, and I WANT TO SEE SOME REVIEWS! PLEASE!

* * *

Chapter 6

"And just when we got settled on the raft, there they were!" Mace told everyone at C.O.P.S. headquarters the next morning. "Buttons McBoomBoom and Berserko, lookin' down at us from the glass dome in the ceilin'! What's worse was that Buttons had his little video phone at the glass too, so the Big Boss could also spy on us!"

Bulletproof tried to make logic of the previous night's incident at the pool. "Could Big Boss and his gang be trying to use Valerie as a link to get to us?" he asked.

"I think they might be tryin' to get to Valerie herself," Mace answered. "After I dropped her off, I was thinkin' of the way she screamed when she first saw them! Judgin' by that alone, you'd think they been starin' at _her_ the whole time. When I looked, I noticed Buttons hunched over to her side of the raft. I think he'd been tryin' to get a look at her rack."

"I honestly don't see that," Longarm said. "I mean, come on. Valerie and the Big Boss? Valerie and one of the crooks? Why on Earth would a single mother like her take a romantic interest in someone like that? If they tried to pursue her, she'd probably just resist."

"It's certainly not setting a good example for the child," Mirage added.

"Whatever it is," Bulletproof said, "we're going to have to keep a watch over her and her son to make sure they don't do anything harmful to either of them."

_They may not be our only competition,_ Sundown thought as he listened to the conversation. But he couldn't actually say that. If he did, should he also mention that _he_ had a date with Valerie that night?

* * *

Valerie put away her lipstick and stared at herself in her bedroom mirror. She was certain Barricade would love her sky blue blouse with royal purple "tiger stripes," and white slacks. She brushed her hair a final time, and put in earrings of blue and purple triangles. She liked how they matched her blouse. She thought she looked sexy, yet conservative – the perfect look for a daytime date. 

She stepped out of her bedroom to see Jeremy coming towards her. He was wearing a green polo with a small white stripe on the collar, and blue track pants. She'd wanted him to change into some blue jeans, except she knew that he's never owned a belt. Still, he'd worn jeans to school before, so how was he able to keep them up, she asked herself.

"Is this… okay… for… Barricade?" he asked.

"Sure, that's lovely," she answered. "I'm sure it's warm enough outside for those pants. Here, let me comb your hair." She took him into the master bathroom.

Meanwhile, Rhonda was staring out the living room window, looking for Barricade's car. "He said it's a white Ferrari with two bucket seats in the front and two in the back," Valerie had told her before she'd gotten into the shower. She checked the VCR time. At least six minutes to noon. She went back to the window and muttered, "Okay, Barricade, we're expecting you at any time now."

Just then, she saw a flashy white car pull into the driveway. _Christ_, she thought to herself. _Whoever owns something like that must be a classy playboy._ Then, she saw a sandy-haired man with funky-looking bangs get out and walk to the front door. He was wearing a leather jacket, black slacks and sunglasses, carrying a small bouquet of white roses. She couldn't make out his shirt from her view.

"That has to be him," Rhonda muttered to herself as she rushed to the front door. She didn't know what to think of Barricade arriving early. She wondered if Valerie and Jeremy were even ready. She opened the door for him before he could ring the doorbell.

She smiled and said, "Hello! You must be whom they call 'Barricade.'" She immediately noticed a blue polo shirt underneath the unzipped jacket, and looked over his face, hair and the rest of his outfit. _God, but he's got some outstanding style,_ she thought.

He took off his sunglasses, smiled back and replied, "That would be me. Is Valerie ready, by any chance?"

She was soon taken by his smile and eyes. They made his face even more radiant than Rhonda first thought. She stuttered, "Uh, y-y-y-yeah, sure!" She turned away and screamed, "_VALERIE!_"

She extended her hand for either a shake or a kiss. "Barricade," she said nervously. "I'm Rhonda, Valerie's sister." She was soon attracted by a pine-scented smell coming from him. She sniffed his neck. "Oh my God, what fabulous cologne you're wearing! What is that called, Forest Ranger Lust?" Valerie and Jeremy had just come out from the bathroom. She screamed at her sister, and Rhonda turned, startled.

"What the hell do _you_ think you're doing!" Valerie cried. "He's _my_ date, and besides, you're a _happily married_ woman!" She greeted Barricade. "Stan! What a surprise, you're only a few minutes early. Please excuse my sister. She tends to get very edgy and nervous around gorgeous strangers." She glared at Rhonda, unnerved at her jezebel behavior.

He kissed the back of her hand and presented her the flowers. Surprised, she said, "Oh, and you brought white roses. My favorite." She felt them, and found they were made of silk. "Uh, they _look_ realistic, though."

"The silk is so they can last forever without the need for water," Barricade told her. "Oh, and you can call me 'Barricade.' Most people who know me do."

Valerie smiled, "All right… Barricade." She went up to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I actually like that name better. It sounds manlier, and gives off the 'tough yet tender guy' attitude. I like that in a man."

She saw Jeremy running out of the house to Barricade's car. "Well, someone's ready to go, obviously. Let's head out." Then she had a thought. "Did you say we were going to the Empire City Park?'

"I did," Barricade answered. "I believe it's where you met us at the picnic. Remember?"

"Great!" she exclaimed. "That's where we're scheduled to shoot the Pretty and Plump commercial I'm working on. Maybe I'll take you to the set. I haven't seen it yet, either, but it should be fabulous."

The whole way there, Valerie talked to Barricade about herself – mainly her career and divorce. While she was talking about her great advancements in Empire City and Indiana, she kept thinking to herself, _Okay, Barricade, stop me if I'm boring you_. But she looked at him and noticed that he never got bored. Although she took that as a positive thing, she still wondered that aloud after talking about her latest magazine advertisements: "Uh, Barricade, I hope I'm not boring you, am I?"

"Oh, no," he replied. "Actually, I think you have quite an interesting job. I always wanted to know how much truth in advertising there is in the world. I always thought that if I didn't get to be a police officer, I'd probably go into advertising."

Valerie smiled and said, "It's nice you're interested in what I do. Most men would probably run away if I talked about my job so much. They want a woman who can cook and clean and satisfy them sexually. But my sisters and I weren't brought up like that. That's the only thing I ever liked about Tom – his encouragement of my work. But he always took my paycheck, and he never wanted to hear how my day was."

Barricade shushed her. "Don't talk about your bastard ex in front of your boy." He looked at Jeremy in the backseat through his rear-view mirror. Jeremy was moving his head around, not listening to the conversation at all.

When Barricade drove into the park, Jeremy looked outside his window at the field area where he and Caleb played with Brian and Tyler. He tried to look for them, but all he saw were a few kids playing tag, throwing sticks for their dogs to fetch, and chasing butterflies. Jeremy was disappointed. He thought his new friends would be there, so he could play with them again.

Valerie looked back at her son. "You probably want to play the other kids, don't you?" she assumed. "I know how you feel, sweetie, but Barricade wants you to spend the time with us. That's why he wanted to include you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Mom," he said. He looked through the rear windshield at the playfield behind him. "I don't… see… anyone… I know… anyway."

They parked next to grassy area leading downhill to a large pond. There, Valerie saw workers finishing up a paint job, a white runway with posts underneath. More workers were busy finishing up an arch for the runway. It looked like a mixture of French and Greek architecture. The backdrop looked like it wasn't even started yet; it all looked like blank white space. She looked along the runway. It was aligned with tiny fountains made to spew water. She thought those to be perfect touching for a fashion show held in the daytime.

Jeremy surveyed the pond and began to pout. "No fair!" he declared. "Where… are all… the… little… ducklings… supposed… to go?"

Valerie looked over at a small bridge in between the walking path around the pond. She saw an adult mallard swimming with her ducklings. "There's some over there, Jeremy. And they're going to stay there until that big platform comes down." She went back to the platform and backdrop. "Observe, Barricade. _That_ is how you set up a commercial for a summer fashion line."

She spied Matt on the walkway, positioned at the backdrop, his back towards her. She called his name, and brought her son and her date to the set.

"Valerie!" Matt called back. "Fancy meeting you here. Oh, and I see you've got one of those C.O.P.S. guys in tow… uh, Bullseye, is it?"

"Barricade, actually," Valerie corrected. "Bullesye's hair is chocolatier, I think.

Matt looked at Jeremy and smiled. "And this must be your son. You told us so much about him. Valerie, you simply must bring him to work one of these days. Let's see if _he's _got any advertising talents," he joked.

Valerie stared at the commercial set and said, "I take it things are going well here. How are the paint jobs?"

"The walking surface of the runway is almost dry," Matt answered. "This warm weather we're having is doing one good job. By evening, it should be ready for painters to walk on and paint the backdrop. I'm thinking of an illusion of a white curtain with the 'Pretty and Plump' logo on top of it. Does that sound all right to you?"

Valerie nodded. "It's better than those god-awful silver and black walls at European shows," she laughed.

"That runway looks beautiful," Barricade commented. "I can't wait to see the finished set. I'll have to come by on Monday or Tuesday to watch you produce, Valerie."

"Monday," she replied. She turned to Matt, pointing to Barricade. "Uh, Matt, not a word of this to anyone at the office, especially not Little Miss Office Gossip. I don't want a bunch of personal questions come Monday morning."

"Mum's the word," Matt replied. "See you." Valerie, Barricade and Jeremy continued on their walk.

They went to the bridge and stopped halfway to look at the ducks. They were staring at the mallard and ducklings Valerie had pointed out earlier. The mother bird dunked her head into the water for a drink, and brought it back up again. Jeremy smiled at this, and asked his mother, "Do you… have… any… bread… crumbs? I want to… feed… the birds."

Valerie laughed and replied, "I'm afraid I don't, honey. But you know what, maybe it's time for _you_ to be fed." She asked Barricade, "Uh, do you know of any hot dog stands, or anything like that around here?"

"There should be a small luncheonette a few miles down the road," he answered. "They sell hot dogs, burgers and fries, and we can also share ice cream for dessert." He paused, then, "Uh, Valerie, are you sure Jeremy can digest food in his condition?"

"I'm positive," she answered. "Jeremy may not talk very fast, but his doctor back in Parrish had said his breathing and digestion were somehow not affected. Anyway, I don't see how digestion problems come into play here. I believe you're thinking about cystic fibrosis."

"Right," Barricade said. In the distance, they saw a small wooden shack-like building and people standing in line. "That must be the place I was telling you about."

There were ten people lined up in front of them. While they waited, Jeremy moved his head around twice. The first time, Barricade tried to position his head so he faced forward. Valerie saw this and quickly stopped him. She cried, "Barricade, no! Stop!"

"What's the matter?" he asked. "I'm only trying to get him to face forward properly. What if people stare?"

"Uh, I think I mentioned in the car that Jeremy has very weak neck muscles, and he tends to move his head around like that," she answered. "Didn't you see how he was doing that most of the way here? So don't force him to stop like that, okay? I like to think that his head is very fragile. Generally, once he starts, he'll stop on his own."

"What's he like when he eats?"

"He won't look at anyone's face, and he doesn't say very much. He'll just stare halfway down at the table – perhaps a 45-degree obtuse angle. Oh, and his stomach hasn't grown very much, so he can't eat a lot. Usually on an outing like this, I'll order him a small order of chicken nuggets and fries."

That's just what Barricade and Valerie ordered for Jeremy, while he decided on a bacon cheeseburger with all the toppings, and she ordered a grilled cheese sandwich. When they got their lunches, Barricade led them to the picnic tables. He found a spot that was very memorable for him. He asked, "Do you remember this very table, Valerie?"

She stared at it, and the others. There were about twenty or thirty picnic tables just like it. She thought back to the police picnic the week before, and remembered two tables adjoined together, where the C.O.P.S. were sitting. But was that really the same spot Barricade was sitting at now? She said, "Uh, is that where you and all your police friends were eating and chatting last week?"

He smiled. "You remembered."

"It was just a lucky guess," Valerie said, taking a seat across from him. Jeremy ran and sat next to Barricade. Valerie cooed and sighed, "Oh, isn't that sweet? Barricade, my son wants to bond with you." She bit into her sandwich and thought deep down, _He must be that desperate for a dad._

"So, Barricade, about your work," she said, "do you have a special talent vital to C.O.P.S.? Your code name should tell me something. Does it have something to do with blocking people's way so they don't try to get at important people? Are you a professional bodyguard or something?"

"Close," he replied. "I'm actually an expert at crowd control."

"Ah, so you stop unruly protestors from rioting. That's great. They could've used a lot of those people during those violent protests in the Middle East years ago."

She'd learned the night before that Mace was part of the SWAT team. But she couldn't tell Barricade this. She didn't want to give him the impression that Mace was also dating her. She pictured the two fighting over her in front of the other C.O.P.S. at the headquarters. She didn't want to cause that kind of friction.

She sipped her iced tea and ate some fries. "So, if the President came to City Hall, or wherever the world leaders would meet for that G-8 summit thing in Empire City, you'd be there to keep things from getting out of hand?"

"That's right!" Barricade said. "And you remember that riot at the mall caused by those kids because of the hypnotic tapes? Mace and I, along with many other SWAT and crowd control people, were there to control it. It was so rough, we actually couldn't have…"

Valerie stopped him there, telling him about Sheldon lying in the hospital because of it. "It was quite traumatic for the family," she said. "I prefer not to talk about it."

"As you wish, my dear." Barricade took her hand and kissed it.

When they were finished lunch, Barricade took Valerie and Jeremy to the petting zoo. Jeremy was trotting ahead of them, as if he knew where it was. Valerie called after him, "Don't go too far, Jeremy! You might get lost!"

He trotted back to the couple. "Barricade," he said, "is there… anything… special… at the… petting… zoo… that you… want to… show us?"

"Glad you asked, kid," Barricade said. "They've just got this really neat chicken that can lay gold and silver eggs. It's called the Midas Chicken. They just added it the zoo this week."

But just as they arrived, they saw a black van pull up on the roadway across from it. Valerie became horrified. Was that the same van she saw when she was with Mace?

She was more horrified to see Buttons McBoomBoom step out of the driver's side. Accompanying him was another strange man, probably another one of Big Boss' henchmen, Valerie guessed. A well-built man, with a short, dark hairstyle, dark glasses, and an obvious Fu Manchu moustache. Valerie was disgusted. She hated Fu Manchus; she thought they looked ugly, especially on this guy. This new man was dressed in a pink button-down shirt, white pants with suspenders, and black boots. Valerie thought he looked just unattractive.

Valerie looked at Buttons again. _Shit_, she thought. _That fucking pervert is back to harass me some more!_

Jeremy screamed and hid behind Barricade.

Smiling at Valerie, Buttons turned to his partner and said, "See, Turbo? That's the chick from the pool last night. She's fuckable, ain't she?"

"Turbo!" Valerie repeated. "Okay, I'm familiar with that dude he's with, but that's Turbo! Who is he!"

"Turbo Tu-Tone," Barricade told her. "Another one of Big Boss' crooks." He brought Valerie closer to him. "Stay with me, I'll protect you."

Buttons and Turbo approached Valerie casually. "Well, well, well, if it ain't the blondie from last night. How was the swim, baby? Y'know, you look a little different outta yer swimsuit."

Turbo was focused on her breasts. "Youse sure got some nice gazombos there, lady," he commented. "Why doncha take off your top for Turbo?"

Valerie immediately slapped him across his face. "You perverted ass!" she exploded. "Will you quit staring at my boobs already?" She looked at his outfit. "And who the fuck dressed you this morning?"

"Back off, jokers!" Barricade warned. "If you're here for that Midas Chicken and the gold and silver eggs, you can just forget it. And you leave Valerie alone. She's _my_ date, you got that?"

"Valerie," Buttons repeated. "So that's her name, huh? And you must be another one of them C.O.P.S. she's taken a likin' to. Sure didn't recognize ya outta uniform an' weaponry."

Barricade whipped out his cell phone. "See this?" he said. "I have access to C.O.P.S. headquarters just by dialing this." He quickly put it back in his jeans pocket so the crooks wouldn't take it. "I'm going to call in the cavalry if you two don't get lost. And if you do so much as _touch_ me now…"

Buttons pointed his machine gun to the sky and started shooting. Valerie, Barricade and Jeremy, along with many other panicked petting zoo patrons, lay down on the ground on their stomachs. While Buttons and Turbo were running inside, Barricade shifted himself up to retrieve his phone. He dialed C.O.P.S. headquarters.

He was holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder, while clutching Valerie and Jeremy with both his hands. "Bulletproof!" he said. "I'm at the Empire City Park, outside the petting zoo. Buttons McBoomBoom and Turbo Tu-Tone are here, and they're trying to steal the new chicken, and all the gold and silver eggs. We need assistance and quickly."

"Hold on," Bulletproof said. "Mainframe's pinpointing the exact location." After a few moments, "Yep! They're still in that chicken coop. I'll have Mainframe keep an eye on their route as they leave the park. I'll send officers immediately."

"Thanks, Bulletproof!" Barricade hung up, and Valerie took the phone. She put it in her pants pocket, Horrified, Barricade whispered, "Valerie, get down! If Buttons and Turbo see you, they'll kidnap you."

Just as she was about to, Buttons and Turbo ran out of the zoo, back to their van. Buttons carried the chicken under one arm, while Turbo had a big bag full of eggs. Seeing an opportunity, Buttons grabbed Valerie's arm and said softly, "C'mon, _Valerie_, yer comin' with us!" But Valerie snatched her arm away and slapped his face.

"Go to hell, you goat's ass!" she blasted. "I'd much rather hang myself than act as _your_ love slave. You and everyone else can just fuck off!"

Turbo had put the eggs in the van. He ran back to Buttons and said, "Forget the bitch for now. If I know her date, them C.O.P.S. are gonna be out for us. Let's go!" But before they left, Turbo raised one hand to give Valerie a sexual spanking on her rear.

She started crying as they left. Another date ruined by Big Boss' gang of crooks. She was sexually harassed, and had just witnessed a crime. Barricade stood up, stood Jeremy up, and they hugged the sobbing woman. Jeremy was also crying, and sobbing, "They… took the… chicken… and… eggs! Oh… Barricade,… what… are we… going… to do?"

"They'll get it back, Jeremy, I promise," Barricade said. He held Valerie tighter. "God, Valerie, I'm so sorry. I swear, I never meant for any of this to happen."

"It's not your fault, Barricade," she replied. "You couldn't save the Midas Chicken, but you did a wonderful job protecting Jeremy. I'd be in pieces if they took him."

Barricade had an idea. "What do you say we forget this petting zoo for now, and take a nice, quiet walk around the park? I'm sure Bulletproof and the others will find us. Then I'll take you guys for a game of miniature golf, and we can finish off with some ice cream. How's that sound?"

"That would be wonderful." She put her arms around him and kissed his lips. It was only two minutes before Barricade took his lips off, but for Valerie, it seemed like two years. She lovingly examined the blues of his eyes. "You're so wonderful, Barricade."

He wrapped one arm around her, and took Jeremy's hand with the other. They started walking, and Barricade asked Valerie, "Now, what was that thing with the pool Buttons was talking about?"

"Promise you won't get mad?" she asked. "At me or anyone else?"

Barricade stopped, looked straight at Valerie, put his middle and index fingers together, and placed them on his chest, where his heart is.

"I actually went out with one of your colleagues last night," she said. "Mace, it was." He looked stunned. He now knew there was competition for Valerie Boston's heart within the C.O.P.S. headquarters. He knew he loved Valerie, and wanted to be the winner of her heart. The question was, what happened with Mace? What were his plans in the future? And he knew Sundown was also interested in her, what would he do? And who else on the C.O.P.S. team had devoted feelings towards her? Did any of _them_ have strategies?

_Dammit, Barricade!_ he thought. _She's sharing something with you, something she wants you to know! Stop dwelling on who might take her, and focus on her!_ He mentally dismissed his bothersome thoughts and said, "Tell me all about it."

The three continued walking. Valerie explained her date with Mace, the dinner, the swimming, and especially when Buttons and Berserko spied on them. She decided to leave out all the lovemaking parts, even at the spying part of the story. She just said, "I had this great plan to make them go away. I got on top of Mace, and gave them the illusion that I already chose him." Certain things, she thought, were a bit mature for Jeremy to hear.

* * *

"You still have that date with Sundown tonight," Rhonda said to a doubting Valerie later that afternoon. "I urge you to keep it." 

Valerie had just finished telling her sister about another "disaster despite his wonderful treatment" date. Rhonda was disgusted by what Buttons McBoomBoom and Turbo Tu-Tone said and did to her. She was shocked by the crime they committed at the petting zoo. But now, Valerie was thinking about canceling her date with Sundown. Rhonda refused to let her.

"Nothing is going to happen on this date, I guarantee it," she said. "It's dinner on the beach, followed by a glorious sunset and a night of dance, right? With those two assholes in jail now, what could possibly happen? Why would they come down to the beach by themselves? What could be possibly worth stealing?"

She thought it over. "You're right, Rhonda. I'll go change out of these clothes. Help me decide what to wear, okay?"

In her room, Valerie was showing Rhonda two dresses. One was a short, peach number with no sleeves, and shoulder straps that went around the neck. The other was a maroon halter dress with violet straps around the middle. "Sundown was sounding rather sexy on the phone," she told her, "so my dress has to be enticing for him. I'm sure he'll be wearing something sexy for me, and we just might end up doing something on the beach, if you get what I mean. So, which do you like better?"

"Put the maroon one on," Rhonda said. "You wore that when you went out with us last New Year's Eve. And you were named the best-dressed woman at the party, remember? It's perfect. That other dress will make you look like Marilyn Monroe. And Sundown will probably want a Vivien Leigh-type."

Rhonda left Valerie to change clothes. As she did, she said, "Are you sure, Rhonda? Because I can't really look like Vivien Leigh for Sundown. I look awful as a brunette."

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "Well, a _blonde_ Vivien Leigh, then. I hope you won't get so technical on your date. That can be a real turnoff."

Several minutes later, Valerie came out in her dress, her make-up re-done. Her shoulders were bare, and Rhonda was already having a change of mind. She asked, "Uh, where's your bra? Are you even wearing one? What if that dress pops out?"

"I'm going without," Valerie answered. "I know I look like a roadhouse whore, but I've decided to model myself after one of those 'cover girls' from those western romance novels. I was picturing Sundown in a sleeveless button shirt unbuttoned to his belly, some sexy denims, and a pair of black outlaw cowboy boots." She was groaning loudly in ecstasy. Rhonda quieted her down.

"Easy, Val!" she said. "You do not want to make yourself submissive to this man!"

"Not unless he shows me his chest," Valerie replied.

An hour later, she was sitting on the beach overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. It was a very sultry evening for early June. She thought this was funny, since it wasn't unseasonably hot that afternoon. "Well, this is a first," she said to herself. "The highs and lows for today seem to be the same." She looked around. The beach was deserted except for her at the moment. "Wonderful. Now I know I can be alone with Sundown this evening."

Suddenly, she thought she heard a vehicle door slamming in the distance. She retrieved her make-up kit in her purse, fixed her lipstick, and teased her hair in the little mirror. Just in case Sundown was coming, she didn't want him to see her as a mess.

She was putting her make-up away when she heard footsteps in the sand. Then, a certain male voice with a Texan twang called her name. She turned, looked up, and saw Sundown standing over her. He was dressed in that sleeveless shirt, – milk white with two buttons undone – black denim jeans and cowboy boots that she imagined. He removed his white cowboy hat as he bowed down at her. She noticed a picnic blanket over his right shoulder, and a bag of fried chicken in his left hand.

"Evenin', Valerie," he said.

He set the blanket and food down, sat beside her, and prepared the dinner. Two three-piece meals with fries and coleslaw for both of them. "I know this don't look romantic," he said, "but I thought it was the best thing for a beach picnic." Then he looked at her face, her clothes, and smiled. "You look so wonderful this evenin'. I love that dress on you."

"Thanks, you look quite handsome yourself," she said. "And no, I'm perfectly content with this. I like fried chicken."

"Oh, an' I don't have no wine with me," he added. "Hope you don't mind."

She shook her head. "Hey, I don't care if a man supplies wine or not. I'm not a materialistic person. Thank you, Sundown."

"It's my pleasure, always," he replied.

Valerie had just finished eating a chicken breast and some of her fries, when she started telling him about her work at Lancer and Sussex. But Sundown shushed her after her first sentence.

"You need not tell me about your daily business," he said. "Maybe another time. And don't ever talk about that bastard you were once married to. It'll only spoil this beautiful moment. I know just what to do should I meet him. But I don't wanna hear about him now. Just relax, free y'self from the cruelties of the world, an' understand you're with a man who knows you and your kid deserve better." He cupped her chin into his hand. "He knows 'cuz he can provide it."

He brought her face closer to his and kissed her lips. After about thirty seconds, he let go and just stared in her eyes, stroking her hair. "You've got the fairest face I've ever seen," he whispered.

They said nothing more as they kept eating, just gave each other loving, flirtatious glances. When they were finished, Sundown disposed the trash, while Valerie folded the blanket up. He took it and said, "Just wait one minute while I put this back in my pick-up."

She sat on the sand and stared out at the aqua-colored waves. They were making a beautiful pattern of crashing sounds along the shoreline. She looked up at the sun. It was still yellow in a blue sky, but she knew it was about to change color soon. She knew Sundown would come back, though. He only parked about forty feet away. _Just a few moments_, she thought. _He wouldn't miss this beautiful show._

Moments later, she heard the familiar sound of cowboy boots in the sand. But she was too immersed in the waving ocean to acknowledge Sundown's return. He sat beside her, put his arm around her, pulled her close. He became just as immersed as she was at the ocean. They heard seagulls squawking above them over the water. Valerie held her backhand up and out for them. One noticed it, and the bird flew down and landed on it.

She carefully brought it toward Sundown, and they took turns petting its feathers. After a few pets each, she flipped her hand so it flew away. Then she took her shoes off and dug her feet in the sand.

"Ah, Sundown, feel how warm this sand is," she sighed. "It's beautiful!" He buried his right hand in it, and had a questioning look.

"Funny, I'd reckon the sand would be somewhat cooler than this," he said. "Must be the balminess of the evenin'."

She walked down to the wet sand at the tide, and allowed the waves to splash at her exposed legs and feet. The water was so cool to her. She was laughing in enjoyment as they splashed on her twice more.

"Enjoyin' the ocean down there?" Sundown asked. He patted the spot where Valerie once sat. "Come back an' sit with me, okay? It's lonely up here without you."

But she was dancing around in the splashing water, and she proceeded to move further into it a few steps. Before he could say anything, a wave splashed onto the bottom of her dress. Intrigued, she dared herself to dive in without taking it off. She'd swam out a few feet when she waved at her date.

Sundown shook his head, asking himself, "How does a lady like her act like that without gittin' drunk?"

Valerie was jumping up and down like an excited child. "Come on, Sundown, dive in! This water's great!" He stayed sitting on the beach.

"Oh, what's wrong, Sundown?" she asked, walking back to the shore. "What, you afraid of the water? Don't tell me you get seasick in the shower!"

"No, it's just that I can't swim," he said. "An' what were you reckonin' divin' into the ocean with your dress on? No country club's gonna let you in lookin' like that!"

She slapped her forehead. She wanted to say a curse word, but she remembered she was around a gentleman. She'd forgotten that they were supposed to go dancing after the sunset. And she never thought to bring a towel.

"I s'pose we can stay here for awhile after the sun is gone," Sundown suggested. "After all, there's no one here on the beach but you an' me. It's the perfect opportunity to make love." With that, he took off his cowboy hat, put his arms around her, and kissed her long and sensually. She pulled from him to look into his dark eyes, and see the tenderness, love and sweetness in this otherwise tough, bucking lawman.

"Oh, Sundown," she whispered, and kissed him back.

She looked away after almost a minute, to see the sky no longer blue, but a pinkish color. The sun was now orange, and had just started to set. She touched his shoulder and pointed to the sky. She whispered, "Look it's starting."

She sat back down with him. They watched as the sky turned arrays of pink, orange and yellow. There were even traces of purple and blue. Valerie stared out at the ocean again. She thought the water just made it more beautiful. She sighed happily and said, "It looks like a masterpiece painting. And I wonder if it's just as beautiful after dark? Oh, Sundown, you were so wonderful to think of this. I could stay here all night."

She looked at the sky again, trying to find the clouds. She imagined herself and Sundown dancing slowly upon them amidst the colors. She rested her head upon his shoulder, and stared at the sun as it became a reddish orange, starting to go below the ocean.

Minutes later, the sun was gone, and the sky still had its sunset colors. Sundown took off his boots and socks, and felt the sand was still warm on his feet. He and Valerie stood up, and they started kissing again, caressing each other all over. Her hands went up his back, and were mostly exploring his neck and chest. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt and took it off. She was so mesmerized by his beefed chest and abdominals, though he wasn't as big as Mace, and his chest was so hairy, too.

She decided to take him out to the water. He resisted at first, but she said, "Come on, Sundown, just one dip. I promise we won't go over our heads." He accepted that, and they went out chest deep into the water.

"Aw, Valerie, you never took off your dress!" Sundown lamented.

"I'm not taking it off!" Valerie insisted. "I'm not wearing anything underneath except for a pair of panties. Besides, you're still wearing your jeans."

They started splashing each other's faces, laughing hysterically. They were splashing each other like they were dog paddling. Then, she took off his cowboy hat, dipped it into the water, and put it back on him. Water splashed down onto his head and shoulders, soaking his face and neck.

So, ya think you can do that to me, huh?" he said. He took a step forward and, suddenly feeling frisky, he leapt towards Valerie, grabbing her shoulders for support. They both fell under the water, and stayed there to make love for only a few seconds. During this time, Sundown's hat seemed to float to the surface. After they came up, Valerie swam to rescue it."

"Aw, you're so sweet, thank you," Sundown said when she gave it back to him.

He grabbed on to Valerie's waist, trying to lift her up over his head. She giggled and said, "Trying to see how strong and flexible you are, are you?" He didn't answer; he was trying to concentrate. But he wasn't successful; he lost his balance, and they fell backwards into the water when she was three-quarters of the way up.

He tried a few more times. Each time, he just about made it when they feel into the water. On his fifth attempt, he managed to get Valerie's chest just above his head. Felling proud, he wanted to see just how long he could hold her up. He lasted about ten seconds before they fell backwards again.

Finally, they decided it was time to go back on shore. But Valerie was staring at Sundown that whole time. She thought he looked so sexy all soaking wet. So when they got back to the shoreline, she sat down and gave him an innocent, yet despairing look. He offered to take her hand to bring her up. But she grabbed his arms and brought him down with her. They started making passionate love as the waves crashed upon them. He was focused on her lips and cheeks, while she was kissing him all over his neck, chest and stomach. They rolled to a 45-degree angle, and they continued their passion as the tide enveloped their bodies.

"Oh, Valerie!" Sundown called. "Oh, Valerie, I ain't never realized how beautiful an' innocent you look when you're soakin' wet. Oh, but I've never really known beauty until I met you. All the women I've ever known, suddenly I've forgotten them."

"Oh, Sundown!" Valerie replied. "You don't know how gorgeous you look! Especially with your chest bare like that! Oh, but I wonder how often you go like that now that's it's hotter out."

"I've had women flock to me as they walk past while I do my yard work," he joked. "Ev'ry single time, ev'ry blazin' summer day without fail."

They continued to make love amidst the tide. Suddenly, Valerie had forgotten all the disasters that happened on her afternoon date with Barricade – but not Barricade himself. It made her think about who she wanted. Barricade was good-looking, but also romantic, brave, and seemed to deliver on his promises, and Jeremy seemed to love him a whole lot. Mace was gorgeous and just as romantic and caring. But the trip to the pool looked as if it was nothing more than lust. But what looks like lust can actually be love – or can it? It was the same with Sundown – he was gorgeous, loving and mannerly, but she was now too enamored by his body to think about any of it.

She decided to think about it when she slept still and sound – and alone.

It was well past dark when Sundown and Valerie decided to leave the beach. The clothes they'd taken off were still where they'd left it. The water had made them both frigid, and with no towel among them, they hurried back to his truck to warm up.

Sundown revved up the truck and turned up the heat. The time on his dashboard clock said it was after midnight. He looked so forlorn at Valerie. The date was about to be over.

"Oh, Valerie, I don't want this to be over," he said. "Please, let's just end this at the mornin' light."

She looked at the picnic blanket in between them, and the truck-bed in the back. She stared out at the starry sky and smiled. She grinned, "Then let's end this at the morning light."

She took the blanket and set of keys and got out, climbing in the back of the truck. He got the idea, and locked the vehicle to go join her. He closed up the back of the truck, and got in beneath the blanket with Valerie.

"It's such a beautiful night tonight," she said. "Look how pretty the stars are."

"I'll bet they're so colorful tonight," he commented. "That'd make 'em even more pretty."

"Well, I'm no science expert, but I think that the gasses emitted from the heat give them a little bit of color."

After two hours of staring up at the starts, pointing out shooting stars, and trying to find the constellations, Sundown and Valerie fell asleep in the truck-bed, holding each other.

* * *

Let's see, first Mace, then Barricade, then Sundown – is anyone seeing Valerie as something of a slut here? Have a happy reading and _don't forget to review!_ See you in chapter #7! Betcha can't wait to see how Nightshade will react to Mace and Valerie – LOL! 


	7. Who's This Other Woman?

**A/N:** Okay, here's where this "romance" between Mace and Nightshade that all the C.O.P.S. fans talk about on the internet comes into play. If anything is inaccurate, please let me know in your reviews. And don't forget to read and review, instead of just reading. Once again, I'm going without in the review department on this story. Thanks.

* * *

Chapter 7

Early the next morning, Nightshade returned to Empire City. She'd been out of town – out of state, rather – to attend her sister's wedding. The whole train ride home, she dreamed of Mace. Her love interest. Not her lover, really; they'd never slept together yet, although that's what she dreamed of on the train.

"Oh, Mace," she sighed happily to herself, "as soon as I tell you of my sister's wedding, we'll be planning one of our own."

At the station, she was greeted by Squeaky Kleen, the Big Boss' limo driver and assistant. He smiled, took her bags and said, "Good morning, Miss Nightshade. I trust you had a good time at your sister's wedding?"

"The best," she replied. "It was such a beautiful affair. Every pew had purple and white roses, every chandelier in the church had porcelain doves hanging from the fixtures. The bridal gown had a twelve-foot train, was ivory, halter and backless. God, but it was the most wonderful thing I'd ever seen. That whole ceremony, standing there in my maid-of-honor gown, all I ever thought about was Mace. I want my wedding to be just like it when he and I get married."

"That won't be for quite awhile, I'll bet," Squeaky replied.

Nightshade was humming the wedding march the whole way from the limo to Big Boss' office. She was picturing her wedding in the future, waltzing down the aisle in her sister's wedding dress, the Big Boss giving her away, kissing Mace passionately as they were declared husband and wife.

But when she arrived, she saw Big Boss and several of his crooks, staring at a piece of paper, Big Boss forlorn and distressed. That picture of Mace and Valerie together at the indoor community pool. They looked up and were startled to see her. Big Boss slammed the picture face down on his desk.

She didn't look impressed. "Well," she said, "_this_ is the warmest greeting I ever had."

"What?" Big Boss said. "Oh, no, Nightshade, it's just that… um… we didn't expect to see you back so early."

"I told you I'd be back this morning." She strutted over to his desk. "My sister and new brother-in-law are flying to Spain as we speak."

She was staring at her colleagues' nervous looks. "All right, either the C.O.P.S. have a plan from the White House to have the headquarters raided, or you're hiding some worse news from me."

"Shall we show her, Big Boss?" Dr. Badvibes whispered.

Before Nightshade could ask, Big Boss handed her the paper. She was looking at the picture of Mace at the pool, on a raft with a woman she didn't even know. She was shocked, horrified, immediately ready to cry. She couldn't even form any words; the only noises she made were little squeaks.

"Her name's Valerie," Big Boss told her. "Though it would've been nice if I learned her _last name_!" He glared directly at Buttons and Turbo.

Nightshade finally let out a scream that was part horror, part disgust. "All right!" she blurted. "Do you mean to tell me that while I spent my sister's wedding reception talking about my own ceremony, my potential groom has been doggy paddling with this _Valerie_ bitch!" She showed them the picture, pointing at Valerie. "This is the woman Mace is supposedly fucking? When was this!"

"It was taken Friday night," Buttons said. "Berserko an' I discovered 'em while we were goin' fer the Diamond Sun. An' perhaps you should know, Big Boss wants her too, as do I."

"Me too," said Turbo.

"Me too," said Rock Crusher, a muscle-bound crook dressed like a jail inmate.

"Me too," said Dr. Badvibes. "And the rest of you may not be surprised when I win her heart. Beautiful women always go for the brainy types."

"You know what, I want her, too," Nightshade declared. Everyone else looked at her strangely before she screamed, "I want her goddamn HEAD! Seriously, what does this woman have that I don't?" She studied her in the picture. "Besides blonde hair, big boobs, a teeny waist, and legs longer than mine?"

"There's more," Buttons said. "Turbo an' I ran into her again yesterday afternoon while we was at the park's pettin' zoo. She was with Barricade."

"Barricade!" Nightshade spat. "So she was with _two_ C.O.P.S.? God, how many others want her? And what does Mace _see_ in this whore?"

She was determined to find out. She marched out of the office with the picture. Outside the headquarters, she stepped into the limo and requested, "Squeaky, take me back to my apartment!"

In her apartment, she stared at the picture, agonizing over whom to be madder at. She already knew Mace was a cheater, but Valerie looked like one easy woman who would sleep with any man in uniform.

Nightshade went to her bathroom and stared in the mirror. She ran her fingers through her fiery red hair. She wondered how Mace would react if she dyed it as blonde as Valerie's. Would he take her back? She'd also have to get implants to match Valerie's bust size. But she didn't want that. She thought they were unnatural and unsafe. Besides, Mace would probably want the real things over silicone imitations.

She decided to be madder at Valerie. After all, based on what Buttons McBoomBoom revealed, she was supposedly sleeping with Barricade as well. And there would be more C.O.P.S. she'd want, too.

Nightshade rolled the picture up and stuck in an empty vase on the coffee table. "Why that little… SLUT!" She threw the vase, and it hit the wall close to the entertainment center, smashing as she screamed the word "slut." "Bitch! Bimbette!"

She sat on her loveseat and turned on the TV. She decided not to go back to the Big Boss. She was too mad to do any jewel robberies today.

* * *

At nine-thirty in the morning, Valerie returned from her date with Sundown. Before she got out of his truck, she gave him a long, lustrous kiss, like the ones she gave at the beach. She smiled, touched the tip of his nose and said, "Last night was the greatest night of my life." 

"You're so beautiful," he replied, smiling like a Cheshire Cat.

She stepped out of the van, and Sundown said, "Listen! Perhaps sometime next weekend, I might git some time off. Maybe you an' me can git together with your son to do somethin', just the three of us."

She smiled. "That'd be great," she replied. "And sometime during the summer, I want you and Jeremy to spend some one-on-one time together. Just tell me what you want to do, and when. It'll be a surprise for him."

"I'd love to," he replied. "So, I'll call ya later, okay? See ya." She shut the passenger door and watched him drive off.

She grinned as she walked to the door. _What a wonderful idea!_ she thought to herself. _Have Mace, Sundown, Barricade, and any other member of C.O.P.S. who wants me, spend some time alone with Jeremy. We'll see whom_ he _wants me to marry!_

She waltzed into the house and loudly announced her presence. That proved to be a big mistake, because she soon saw her irate-looking sister stomping into the front hall.

"Well, it's about fucking time you came home!" Rhonda blasted. "Where the hell have you been all night! We're supposed to go to Karen's to pick out furniture for your new house today!"

Valerie slapped her forehead. "Shit!" she said. "I was so indulged in the sunset and Sundown's company, that it totally slipped my mind!"

Rhonda looked disgusted at Valerie's wet look. "And what the hell happened to your dress? Did you go swimming in it? Your hair looks soaked!"

"I took off my shoes and went in the water, up to just below the dress," Valerie confessed. "I never intended to get it wet, but a wave hit it, and I thought, 'Hell, why not? It's wet already, why not take it further?'" She proceeded to tell her Sundown's reaction, and what they did in the ocean and on the tide.

Rhonda was shocked. "You slept with him, didn't you?"

"Made love on the ocean tide," Valerie corrected. "They're two different concepts. After the beach, we just cuddled in the back of his truck under the stars, nothing major."

"What's the difference? Do you know how much idle gossip you're going to stir up just by getting intimate?"

"Oh, Rhonda, that's just how Mother sounded when I came home late from my senior prom." She went to dry herself off and change clothes. "Look, the longer we argue, the longer we hold Karen up. What time are we supposed be there?"

"She wants us there for eleven. And need I remind you she lives all the way across town, and I gather you haven't had breakfast yet."

"We have plenty of time. Honestly, Rhonda, sometimes you get worked up over nothing!"

An hour later, they were at their sister Karen's house, crowded around her computer, looking at the many furniture items on her business website. They'd started with the living room, looking at couches, easy-chairs and loveseats, and tables.

Karen talked Valerie into getting a leather couch. "Rhonda showed me the house you wanted yesterday," she said. "I just looked at that blue living room, and thought leather seating would be perfect for that atmosphere."

Valerie looked over the couches. She chose metal arms and legs to the wooden ones. She looked at the various color options – black, white, red, yellow, orange. None of these colors matched the "under the sea" atmosphere of that room. Royal blue would definitely blend in with the carpeting, and purple would look just awful. She didn't want to repaint the walls or install new carpeting. She decided on a lighter shade of blue. She asked, "Do you have these in sky blue, or fluorescent or metallic blue? I think it'd be just right for the Atlantis feel."

"Yeah, Rhonda mentioned that, didn't she?" Karen laughed. She clicked on the color availability link, and a list appeared in a new window. There was the sky color, among the blues and light greens in a 40-color palette.

"Excellent!" Valerie declared. "I'll take that for the couch and the matching loveseat! How much will it cost?"

Both of her sisters laughed. "You're family, Valerie," Karen said. "Of course it's going to be all paid for by me!"

They looked at coffee and end tables next. "Wood simply will not do in a living room like this," Karen advised. "Metal legs are the way to go here. The question is, would you like a metal or glass surface?"

"Metal surface," Rhonda answered. Valerie glared at her, but she said, "Sorry, sis, but if Jeremy bumps into the table by accident, he just might take the glass out, and send it shattering on the rug."

"He's ten years old," Valerie protested. "He _can_ walk properly now. It's not like when he was four, and totally accident-prone."

"Still, we can't take any chances," Rhonda replied. She said to Karen, "And we want metal surfaces for the end tables, too."

"Gold, silver or bronze?" Karen asked.

"Gold, please," Valerie replied. "That reminds me of the same treasure found buried at the bottom of the ocean. Jeremy will love that."

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "You're just obsessed with the sea theme in the living room, aren't you? I'm sure company will be really impressed."

"Please!" Valerie retorted. "It's not as if people will get up to use the bathroom every five minutes when they're in there."

"Let's move on to the dining room," Karen suggested. "Now, for a room so small in a house with only two residents, I strongly recommend a round table five to six feet in diameter. And, depending on the company you may have over for dinner, at least four chairs around it." She looked at Valerie. "Uh, not to butt into your personal life, but Rhonda told me you're romantically interested in several members of C.O.P.S. Do any of them have any kids, by any chance?"

"Only Longarm and Blackbelt do, and _they're_ already taken," Valerie replied. "The rest didn't even have a date to the picnic, never mind a spouse. Unless some of them are divorced or single dads, in which case, Barricade and Sundown never mentioned it to me. Mace just _has_ to be childless; it was just the two of us back at his place. I'll have to ask them when I see them next."

"Fine then, we'll just order more chairs as time progresses." They chose a table with chrome-colored metal legs and an oak-finish surface that wasn't real wood, and a set of four brown vinyl chairs. Karen clicked on the bedroom section next. "Now, for Jeremy, I'm already choosing a small bed, metal, with bars on the bottom welded to the sides." She showed her sisters the model, and Valerie was impressed.

"That would be more convenient," she said. "Remember that old wooden bed I had for years? The boards underneath started falling out, and it wasn't long before it finally collapsed."

"And for your room, would you like a king-size bed or a queen-size?"

"Queen-size would be wonderful," Valerie answered. "And if it's not too much trouble, would you also look into purple pillows, lilac bedsheets and a dark purple quilt to match the color of the room?"

"Sure can," Karen said. "And what do you think Jeremy would like?"

"Something colorful, but not babyish," Valerie replied. "Maybe ocean wave stripes in a wild array of colors, if you have it. He'll really go for it. And how about some dark-colored bedsheets, maybe blue and purple stripes?"

"Dark bedsheets?" Rhonda repeated. "Valerie, he may have some development problems, but I doubt that he still wets the bed at his age." She turned to Karen. "I'm sure white sheets will be just fine."

Karen went to the bedroom section and selected the linens, quilts and pillows. She chose two "air mattresses" for both beds. "Here," she said, "you'll have enough body support to help get a good, comfortable night's sleep, so you don't toss and turn, and wake up with back and side pains."

"You're so sweet, sis," Valerie replied. "Thank you."

Karen returned to the furniture section. "And desks. Jeremy will need a desk for doing art projects and homework assignments."

"No white surfaces," Valerie requested. "Jeremy will never be able to take nice care of it. If we had him clean the ink marks and other stains every week, he'd easily forget the routine."

She saw a wooden desk with a slanted surface. Like the dining table they chose, it wasn't real wood. It looked just like the dining table, too – chrome metal legs with a "cherry oak" surface. "That's perfect. At least he won't mark it up too badly." She cleared her throat. "What about computer desks?"

"We'll get to that when we look at computers," Karen promised. "Right now, let's look at furniture for the den in the basement."

She, Rhonda and Valerie were attracted to a sofa and easychair ensemble made of dark blue polyester. "The best look for any recreation room with a bar," Karen declared. "And we'll also need a recliner." She found one made with red leather, with the seating made from white and blue felt. She also chose blue and purple throw pillows for the sofa, and matching coffee and end tables with metal legs and steel surfaces.

"Okay, that takes care of furnishings," Karen said. "Let's move on to electronics. Now, for the living room, I think a 24-inch color TV would be perfect."

* * *

Nightshade stared at the picture of Mace and Valerie. Her sweetheart, philandering with a woman she knew nothing about, except that she looked like a bikini model. She wanted to meet her now. But where did she live? And where was she now? What was her _last name_, even? 

She decided to look for anyone who might know her, and ask them. "It's better than calling," she said to herself. "I could take all week."

Outside her apartment building, she stopped various passers-by, showed them the picture and asked the same question: "Do you know anything about the woman in this picture?" After a good look, the people would shake their heads.

As she strolled down the sidewalk, she showed more people the picture and asked about Valerie. She even showed it to drivers as she crossed streets. She went up and down streets, looking for anyone who may have information about Valerie Boston. But no one knew anything about her.

She looked out at the streets for any police cars. She hoped she didn't see Bulletproof or any of the other C.O.P.S., especially not Mace. She was still mad enough to smack him. And the others could arrest her just for walking the streets. She didn't want either. All she wanted and needed was a chance to know Valerie. She asked twenty more people, showing them the picture. But she still wasn't getting anything.

She found herself standing outside Ocean Moon Apartments. She sighed and said to herself, "She must be new in town." She went inside and saw at a bunch of intercom buttons that contacted certain apartments. She read all the numbers and occupants' names, picking some out at random. She decided to start with the apartment numbered 416. Beside it read the name, _Laird, Teresa_.

She took to the elevator to the fourth floor, staring at the picture. Her desire to know "the other woman" intensified. She said to herself, "I wonder where this woman works. Maybe this Teresa Laird lady works with her. Whatever, I hope I hit paydirt with this one."

Nightshade stepped off at her floor and walked straight to the door marked 416. The even-numbered doors were on her right. When she arrived, she rang the doorbell and flashed the picture at the door. She wanted Teresa to notice it as she met her.

She heard Teresa's voice from inside her apartment. "Who is it?"

"Ms. Laird?" Nightshade called. "My name is Rafaella Diamond, better known as 'Nightshade.' I come seeking information about a strange woman in the picture I have here. May I speak with you, please?"

Teresa unlocked her door and answered, bathrobe-clad. Nightshade gave her the picture and said, "I'm wondering if you have any information about the blonde woman in that photograph. I know that her first name is Valerie, but I need to know more, specifically her last name and current address."

Teresa immediately became surprised and excited. She knew about both the picture models. She grinned, took Nightshade in and said, "I'm so glad you came to me, Ms. Diamond. The woman in the picture is Valerie Boston. She just moved here from Indiana. She's a project manager for Lancer and Sussex Advertising Agency here, where I'm secretary."

She grinned and thought to herself, _I can't believe Valerie is sleeping with Sergeant Colt "Mace" Howards. I can't wait until Nightshade leaves so I can call everyone._

_

* * *

_

Nightshade took a taxi back to her apartment. The whole way home, she'd been pondering over whether to call Valerie, or make an impromptu visit to her house. She desperately wanted to tell about her romance with Mace.

She decided to wait until evening, and go to her house. She put the address and phone number in her pants pocket. She never returned to the Big Boss' headquarters. Instead, she spent the afternoon lying on her sofa, thinking of the times she and Mace shared.

She thought about that case they investigated together – a robbery at a charity ball. This was after he'd arrested her for abducting her sister. The same sister whose wedding she just lived through. Probably the fondest memories she had of the romance blossoming involved her "knockout lipstick." He kissed her while she was behind bars, and they knocked each other out. When they came to, he smiled at her, gave her loving glances, and she knew that he wanted her love. Later on, probably in another case, he put on her lipstick and kissed a rottweiler that had them cornered. She laughed when he did that.

From then on, they shared some very happy, romantic times – long walks on the beach at the sunset, romantic evenings at the opera and theater, cuddling at their apartments with a romantic movie. Many times when they went dancing, they would dance to a slow song – maybe two – by themselves on the floor as other patrons watched, like they were already married. They'd even gone swimming in the pond at the Empire City Park one time late last summer. And the gifts they'd given each other, especially the previous Christmas, when he gave her a pair of crystal earrings and peppermint-scented perfume. This whole year, he'd been making her feel special. Nightshade had even been thinking of leaving Big Boss and changing her criminal ways, only for Mace.

But for a few weeks now, Mace had been acting strange around her, so cold and distant. She couldn't understand him, or why he was acting this way. She started going back to Big Boss and his gang, not for assignments, but for advice and comfort. But she believed there was still hope, why else would she fantasize about their potential wedding? All she could think about was how much she loved him, never imagining life without him.

Now she was staring at a picture of her beau with another woman on a raft in a swimming pool. Was this a sign that it was really over? Nightshade didn't want to believe it.

"No," she said. "Don't despair, Nightshade. He still loves you. He wants to marry _you_, not _her_! Just tell her about your love for him, and she'll dump him like shit out of someone's ass."

* * *

That evening, Nightshade took a transit to Rhonda's house. She got off just three houses away, walked to her front door, and rang the bell. Minutes later, Rhonda answered, shocked to see her. 

"Nightshade!" she cried. "Listen, bitch, if you think you're here to raid through my jewelry box…"

"I'm not," Nightshade replied. "I want to speak with Valerie Boston. I have something very important to tell her."

Rhonda reluctantly let her in, and said, "She's in the kitchen, finishing up the dinner dishes." Nightshade went straight to the kitchen. Caleb and Nicole were at the dining table. They immediately rushed into the living room when they saw her.

Valerie was drying the last of the cutlery. After she put it away, she turned and noticed Nightshade. She looked at the picture she was holding and gasped.

"Are you that cop-handling jezebel, Valerie Boston?" Nightshade asked.

"Who are you calling a jezebel?" Valerie replied. "I'm a professional career woman."

Nightshade pointed at the dining table. "Sit down, we need to talk."

They sat across from each other, Nightshade giving Valerie evil glares. Valerie took the picture from her and stared at her horrified reaction to seeing Buttons and Berserko. Nightshade studied her. Valerie looked just as horrified as her "caught on film" look.

"So, that was you with Mace in that picture, wasn't it?" Nightshade asked. "What, you still upset that your privacy was invaded? If I hadn't stopped by to see the Big Boss, I would've never known Mace was cheating on me like that!"

"What are you talking about?" Valerie asked.

"For the past year," Nightshade explained, "Mace and I have been sharing a romance." She told her about the kiss they shared while she was imprisoned, and the robbery she helped him foil. She told of their activities over the year since, the affections he'd showed her, the gifts he'd given her, even their talks about getting married. She said, "I was starting to reform my ways as a jewel thief, even planning to leave Big Boss. But lately, Mace has been acting like I'm from fucking Mars, and it doesn't help that _you're_ fucking him!"

Valerie gave a dazed look, then a snicker escaped her, which turned into boisterous laughing. Nightshade gave a deeper glare. She knew she was not joking about her intentions to repair her romance with Mace. But Valerie thought this concept was unbelievably funny.

"Yeah, tell me another one," she laughed. "A jewel thief sharing love with a member of the SWAT team. The bad and the good colliding on the wings of love. That's fucking rich!" She calmed down a little and said, "Listen, sweetie, I don't buy that story for one minute. You can't possibly convince me that Mace has been falling hard for you, and you're converting your ways as a result. What's next, Mace can also turn a lesbian woman straight? Impossible, and so are your little romantic claims."

Nightshade slammed her hand on the table. "If you think I'm joking, go ask Mace for yourself. He'll say that he loves me, and he was just using you for sex!" _At least, I_ hope _he's just using her for sex,_ she thought.

"Or he'll say that your romance was a fluke, and it's really _me _he wants," Valerie said. "Which, according to logic and common sense, is pretty likely."

Nightshade stood up and glared down harder at her. "Oh, so you want to be a smart-ass little bitch, huh? Well, it just so happens that I have some colleagues of my own that will be very interested in your love themselves. Maybe that will persuade you to back off and leave Mace to me!"

She grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the house, down the street. Behind her, Valerie can hear her sister, niece and nephew's pleas and cries.

"Nightshade!" Rhonda yelled. "Where the hell are you taking Valerie?"

"Let her go!" Caleb called. "Bring her back!"

"What are you going to do with her!" Nicole cried. "Please don't kill her, I'm begging you!"

"No, I won't!" Nightshade called back. "I'm taking her to a place where I can talk some sense into her! And don't you dare get those damn C.O.P.S. involved, you hear?" She said nothing more and whispered to Valerie, "One noise, and I'll see that you never speak again, understand?"

As they walked down the street, Nightshade took out her cell phone to call Big Boss. "Please have Squeaky pick us up at the end of Ravenell," she requested. "I have the woman you all want to see." When she got off, she asked Valerie, "Oh, and before I forget, do you mind telling me about your little fling yesterday with _Barricade_? That sounds a little sluttish, if you ask me."

"Mace, Barricade and Sundown all called to ask me out on dates, all out of the blue," Valerie said. "What was I supposed to do, turn them down? They wanted me! And another thing, how did you know where Rhonda lived?"

"If that's any of your business," Nightshade answered spitefully, "I went around Empire City asking people about you. No one seemed to know. Luckily, I met Teresa Laird in her apartment. She says she works with you at this place called Lancer and Sussex. She immediately identified you _and_ Mace in that picture I showed everyone, and gave me all the dirt on _you_!"

Valerie groaned. _Damn that Teresa!_ she thought. _Now she's going to tell everyone that I was with Mace Friday night. I'm _so_ going to kill her tomorrow morning. If Matt tells her I was with Barricade yesterday…_

Big Boss' limo met the women at the end of the street. Nightshade opened the back door, threw Valerie in, then got settled herself. Squeaky drove them to the organized crime headquarters.

* * *

Will Valerie accept potential dates with Big Boss and his gang? Is the romance between Mace and Nightshade over for good? Tune in next chapter. :P 


	8. Rejections All Around

**Author's Note:** Ok, I've just updated this chapter. This is something that occurred to me while I was working on Chapter Nine. Here, I mentioned Valerie's busy week and Hardtop's date with her, but something told me that, in between the weekend of dates, and Hardtop's dinner with Valerie, I had to show some interaction between her and one of the other C.O.P.S. I thought a surprise movie with Barricade, followed by coffee and donuts (as described below) would be perfect. Those who give this a re-read, tell me if you like the improvement.

* * *

Chapter 8

Valerie stayed quiet on the way to Big Boss' headquarters. The whole way there, she'd been thinking about many things. She was mostly thinking about Jeremy, who had spent the whole afternoon at the Raines house. _Thank God I let Jeremy eat over with Tyler_, she thought. _He'd have a crying fit if he saw me get kidnapped._ But now, she was desperate to see him again.

When they arrived, Nightshade grabbed Valerie's arm and forced her into the building. Valerie was struggling herself free, but Nightshade gripped tighter. When they got to the floor with Big Boss' main office, she screamed, "Let go of me, you bitch! I can walk!" But Nightshade ignored her pleas.

In the office, Nightshade threw Valerie down on the floor and said, "Here she is, you guys. The woman of all your dreams."

She looked up and gasped. The men in the gang, including Big Boss, were all ugly, and she became frightened of them leering at her. Big Boss got up from his desk, and Valerie was shocked by his grossly overweight form. She didn't want to picture him naked. She was afraid of losing her meal. Big Boss looked like the type of man who didn't appreciate a mess on the floor.

"Oh my God," she said lowly. "I'm being pursued by a five foot tall human pig!"

"Actually, Valerie Boston," Big Boss said, "I prefer the term _stocky crime lord_."

He brought out his hand for her to take, but she refused. She stood up herself and barked, "Let's get this over with right now!" She looked around at the décor and furniture. "Although you have a nice place, I'd rather be anywhere but here right now! What do you want from me?"

Big Boss took her hand, and Valerie became even more frightened. The way _his_ hand felt, she thought he was going to crush hers. But he was surprisingly gentle.

"Just yer pledge of love," he said slowly. "From the first time Buttons took yer picture, I thought of no one but you, see? What were you doin' with Mace, anyway? You know that–"

"If you're going to say that Mace belongs with Nightshade," she interrupted, "I can easily predict that he will break up with her as soon as he and the other C.O.P.S. come to rescue me. I mean, come on. A cop and a crook in love with one another? It's just not meant to be! And speaking of which, you're wasting your time, because I'm more interested in several of the C.O.P.S. Why, Barricade already bonded with my kid, and I fucked Sundown last night!"

"Bah!" Big Boss said. "You don't need those damn C.O.P.S. Lookit me, I've got ten times more love to give than any of _those_ guys!" He proceeded to wrap his arms around her so tight, she couldn't move. Any tighter and she wouldn't breathe, either.

She became more apprehensive as he started whispering in his ear, "You don't know how valuable you are to us. Lookin' at you, I can tell we're going to be quite the romantic couple." He brought her over to face his gang, "An' if ya don't want me, I've got a host of other guys that need some love in their lives, too." She looked at Buttons, Turbo, Crusher and Dr. Badvibes, all flirting immensely with her. She was twitching, and felt sudden stomach pains.

"Where are the washrooms?" she moaned. "I have this sudden urge to puke."

Suddenly, she heard the office door fling open. She turned and saw another tall woman, short blonde haircut, butch-looking, and wearing too much makeup. Valerie shuddered. This was one ugly-looking woman.

"God, who the hell are _you_?" she asked her. "A fitness trainer on steroids?"

"You wish I was," the woman replied. "The name's Ms. Demeanor. And you must be that Valerie Boston chick Big Boss has been talking about." She was leering at Valerie to intimidate her. "So, which one of these guys do you want?"

Valerie screamed and stomped hard on Big Boss' foot. He released her, and she ran a few feet away from them. She screamed, "Let me out of here! I can't believe I'm trapped in here with a molten pot of uglies, a vixenous jewel thief and a butch pseudo-lesbian!" She glanced at Nightshade and Ms. Demeanor, who were shocked by what she said. "Yeah, you heard what I called you!"

Big Boss brushed past Valerie and locked the office doors. "Youse ain't goin' nowhere, baby!" he ordered. "Not until we discuss plans for our first date!"

She walked up to him and slapped him. "Don't you dare call me _baby_, you understand?" she said through her teeth. "I am not, nor will I ever be, your baby, _Big Boss_!"

"Why doncha call me by my real name?" he suggested. "It's Babel. Brandon Babel." He took her hand again. "Now, you've got two choices, see? We can either talk about that date, or I can take you to a spare room in the back, an' we can get laid, just you an' me."

She snatched his hand away. "Fuck you!" she spat. She addressed all the men present. "I'd rather sleep with a dead horse than with any of you, you got that!"

* * *

Jeremy was still at Tyler's house at quarter to nine. They had been playing Scrabble and Sorry the whole evening. They were just about finished their second Scrabble game, Jeremy ahead of Tyler by about five points. 

It was Tyler's turn. He looked at his remaining two letters. A "Z" and an "O." It would've been the perfect opportunity to spell _zoo_, except there wasn't a free "O" on the board. So he started searching for any free consonants. He found two "N's," an "R," and a "T." After a quick decision, he placed it next to an "N" to spell _no_. Three points on a Double Letter square.

Jeremy cheered as his turn came. He had an "I" and a "T" left. He used the other "N" to spell _tin_. Three points, plus with that "Z," he'd stolen Tyler's ten points to defeat him by twenty-five.

"Dang, Jeremy, but you're a wordy genius," Tyler commented.

Cindy had been watching the game end, and she announced, "All right, Tyler, it's almost time for you to have a bath and go to bed. Jeremy, I'll have Blackbelt drive you home, okay?" She relayed the request to her husband as the boys put the game away.

"Sure thing," Blackbelt replied. Just as Jeremy and Tyler started for the front hall, the phone rang. Cindy answered, and Bulletproof showed up on the video screen.

"I need to speak with Blackbelt, is he at home?" he asked.

"He is," Cindy answered. "He's just about to take Jeremy home. One second, please." She called for her husband, and he took the phone. "Bulletproof, what's up?"

"We just got a call from a Rhonda Shewfelt," Bulletproof told him. "She has said that Nightshade showed up at her house this evening to confront her sister, Valerie. She added that Nightshade took Valerie out of the house to see the Big Boss."

"What!" Blackbelt cried. "You mean Valerie Boston? That woman from last weekend's picnic?" He turned to Cindy and relayed the story to her. She became shocked, and he quickly turned back to Bulletproof.

"Bulletproof," he said, "I'm about to take her kid back to the house. You want me to stop by the Big Boss' headquarters to pick her up?"

"The Big Boss and his whole gang may be holding her hostage, and might also be armed and more dangerous than ever," Bulletproof warned. "I want all available units there immediately. I've already contacted Longarm and Highway at their homes."

"Right," Blackbelt said. "I'm already there, and I'm taking Jeremy with me."

When he hung up, Cindy pleaded, "For God's sake, Blackbelt, please be careful over there. And watch out for Jeremy. If you have him reunite with Valerie, please make sure he doesn't get hurt in all that crossfire. It'd be just horrible if something happened to them both."

He kissed her and promised, "She and Jeremy will be safe in their home when this is over." He rushed to the front hall, saw the boys, and said to Tyler, "You better say good night to Jeremy now, and get ready for tomorrow, son."

"I am right now," Tyler said. "I heard Mom panicking. What's going on?"

"I have to take Jeremy to Big Boss' headquarters," Blackbelt answered. "Nightshade just kidnapped his mother, and she's being held hostage."

Jeremy screamed and started to cry. He ran to Blackbelt and clung to him. He wailed, "Blackbelt! Why… did they… take Mom? What… are… they… doing… to her?"

"Don't cry, Jeremy," Blackbelt replied. "I'm sure they're not doing anything bad to your mother. But we have to go rescue her before they get the chance to. And that means we have to go right away."

Tyler said goodbye to Jeremy, and Blackbelt took the boy to his police car. The officer revved it up, grinned at Jeremy and said, "Jeremy, it's crime-fighting time!"

* * *

"For the last fucking time," Valerie lamented at the bad guys, "I'm not going out with ANY of you! You're all as ugly and dumb as a mutated jellyfish!" 

"I resent that remark!" Dr. Badvibes protested. "I'm probably smarter than all of the C.O.P.S. put together. Just give me one chance, and I can show you just how mannerly I can be."

"Well, since you're so polite," Valerie said, "I suppose I can ease up on you. But the answer is still 'no.' Sorry, but you're not my type. You're a little on the nerdy and scrawny side. And I don't go for mad scientists, either."

She turned back to Big Boss. "As for you, if you _ever_ want to sleep with me, I'll have to put a bag over your head first. Yes, you're _that_ ugly! And if you took me out to dinner, they'd have to find a special sofa for you to sit on. You'd destroy all the regular ones with _your_ fat ass!"

"Stop with the insults, Valerie," Big Boss replied. "Why doncha just admit that ya wanna date me, see? Just get it over with! Say yes when I ask you out!"

Outside the headquarters, Blackbelt, Longarm and Highway joined the other C.O.P.S. in Valerie's rescue. "Excellent, all are present and accounted for!" Bulletproof said. "Now, let's move out. We've got an innocent mother to save!" They all ran into the building, to the elevators to the top floor.

Meanwhile, even Berserko was still harassing Valerie. "C'mon, _Auntie Valerie_!" he said. "We all know you want Unca Big Boss just as much as he wants you. Now, why doncha come outta the closet with your lil' feelin's?"

Valerie quickly slapped him. She said, "Call me 'Auntie Valerie' again, and something even worse is going to happen to you, got it? I wouldn't marry your uncle if he were the last man alive after the world ended!"

She walked quickly over to the doors and started pounding on them. "Get me the hell out of here!" she screamed. "I want my son! I want my sister! And I have to get up early in the morning!"

Big Boss walked over, took her arm and threw her against his desk. "Youse ain't goin' nowhere until we set our date!" he insisted. "Now, I'll clear my schedule for this Friday night, see? I know a classy four-star restaurant where I'll treat ya to a nice vegetarian dinner. Then, there's a 'Gangster's Paradise' matinee down at the bijou, see? Afterwards, I'll take ya to this classic nightclub, it's got a 1930's look to it, we'll have a few cocktails. You an' me, we're gonna have so much fun."

Before Valerie could respond, she saw the doors bang open, and Bulletproof yelling, "Freeze! C.O.P.S.! You're all under arrest!" His team of officers were behind him, including Blackbelt. As they all ran inside, she heard a familiar voice yelling, "Mom!" She saw Jeremy starting towards her.

"Jeremy!" she screamed. She ran over to hold him.

Suddenly, the crooks prepared their weapons, as did the C.O.P.S. Valerie was horrified to be trapped in the middle. But, just as Buttons was about to start shooting, Hardtop grabbed the mother and son and quickly pulled them out of the way, taking them to nearby bathroom.

Soon, everyone with a weapon began firing at one another. But it seemed as if the crooks were holding on their weapons so tightly, like they refused to leave their hands. The C.O.P.S were constantly ducking to avoid getting shot, as were the crooks. The whole office was getting shot up in the process, glass tinkling, papers flying everywhere. Luckily, Blackbelt managed to jump out over his group to the crooks. Using his martial arts skills, he kicked some weapons out of their hands, then gave them high-kicks and "power punches" to the crooks who were defenseless.

Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Hardtop was holding Valerie, asking, "Are you okay, ma'am?"

"Yeah," she answered. "Now that you are the others are here. By the way, what's with this 'ma'am' crap? You can call me 'Valerie,' you know."

"Sure thing… Valerie." he said.

They soon found themselves staring into each other's faces, focusing on their blue eyes. She started running her fingers through his light brown hair. He was touching the ends of her hair.

"Oh, God," he whispered. "Valerie, I can't get over just how beautiful you are."

She replied, "You're something of a pretty boy yourself, uh… uh… what's your name again?"

"Hardtop."

"Hardtop," she finished. "All right."

Hardtop couldn't keep his sudden romantic urges to himself anymore. He brought his face closer to hers and kissed her passionately. She put her arms on his back and started groping it, as she let him kiss her lips and chin. Jeremy was watching all this, and turned his head away when he couldn't take anymore.

"Mommmm!" he cried. "Must… you do… that… in… public? In front… of me? Kissing… is… gross!"

"Oh, Jeremy!" Valerie said. "What are you, six? People kissing when they're in love is perfectly natural, and you know it."

Hardtop chuckled and said, "You sure have a cute little boy. I guess I can tell where he gets that from. Listen, how would you like to go out with me Friday night?"

She smiled back and replied, "I'd love to. That was so sweet of you to say that."

"I'll see if I can find a thrifty restaurant," he said. "Women like you deserve to dine there. Then I hear this club, the White Apple Palace, is holding a poetry reading that night. I think it'll be a very romantic evening for us."

"I'm in. I love hearing and reading poetry." She almost added that Tom never wrote her poetry when they were together, but stopped herself. She was certain Hardtop wouldn't want to hear it.

When they were sure the commotion was over, Hardtop, Valerie and Jeremy walked back into the office. She smiled at the C.O.P.S. placing the crooks in handcuffs. A few feet from her, she could hear Nightshade pleading with Mace for another chance.

"Mace, please!" she screamed. "Please think about all those happy times we shared over the year. All the places we've been to, our pledge for marriage. That's what we've been talking about, for crissake! And why have you been ignoring and avoiding me! You love me, Mace, and you _know_ it! You know it's me you want, not her! You don't love Valerie! You love me just as I love you! I've been reforming for you, you know! I've never even come back here for assignments. The Big Boss never put me up to this, anyway. Oh, Mace, you know I deserve another chance with you! Please!"

Before Mace could say anything, Valerie called, "Bitch, did you honestly think Mace would come crawling back to you, after you kidnapped me, and tried to make me into the Big Boss' love slave? Have you been doing crack? I think that hot hunk of man would have to be insane to do that!"

Mace grinned at her. "My sentiments exactly!" he declared. "Thank you, Valerie." He strutted over to her, put his arms around her, and tumbled her to the ground. "Hot hunk of man, now am I? God, but I love ya already, baby!" He gave her a most lustrous kiss, lustier than what he'd given her at the pool, right in front of everyone. She could hear Nightshade screaming, "No! Valerie, you _sluuuuuut_!" as she was being carried out.

* * *

Valerie awoke at six o'clock the next morning. She was still vengeful because of what Teresa learned about her and Mace. She was certain everyone at the agency would know about what happened at the pool. She was prepared for everyone asking her personal questions, calling her filthy names. Maybe they wouldn't call her names; she only slept with one policeman that they know of. Still, she was thinking about which knife to take to work with her, to kill Teresa with. 

She had a bowl of cereal with one of those microwave breakfast meals – sausage links, eggs and hash browns, along with instant tea. She wanted to get to work early today. Besides confronting that gossipy secretary, she was also starting work producing that "Pretty and Plump" commercial.

Rhonda walked into the kitchen just as Valerie started eating. "Valerie, it's seven o'clock, and you're already having breakfast?" She asked. "Usually, we sit down together as a family at eight."

"I have that commercial to shoot today, remember?" Valerie asked. "I think we start shooting around nine. Also, before I do that, I need to pick some bones with Teresa Laird." She bit into a sausage and swallowed. "Methinks that the episode with Nightshade and her friends last night would've never happened if it weren't for _her_!"

As she drove towards the agency, she saw Teresa's red Honda pull into the parking lot. Since nobody except Mr. Lancer and Mr. Sussex had any reserved spaces, she parked her car closely beside her, and purposely opened her door to hit Teresa's passenger door.

She got out and slammed her door. Teresa ran to her passenger's side to examine the dent Valerie had left. She gave a haughty glare, ready for a catfight.

"You're paying for that damage, Valerie Boston!" she spat. "I'll tell Mr. Lancer, and he'll make sure this comes out of your salary!"

"Well, _that_ was for telling everyone about my private pool date with Sgt. Mace!" Valerie spat. "You called everyone to tell them, didn't you?"

"Maybe I did! Of course, that's for me to know and for you to find out." Teresa started towards the agency, with Valerie following her. "Yesterday, this redhead who called herself 'Nightshade' came, and showed me this picture of you and Mace seemingly doing it on a raft. Don't think I don't know about those C.O.P.S., and what they do all the time. Maybe it would help if you read the newspaper headlines every morning."

"Fuck you, Teresa! Because of that, Nightshade came to Rhonda's house, kidnapped me, and literally took me to her leader. If those C.O.P.S. hadn't come to rescue me, that fucking Big Boss and all his goons would've taken their turns with me!"

Teresa made a sharp turn towards her and grinned. "So that Big Boss wants you, too? God, but you're quite the easy one, Valerie. I can't wait to tell everyone."

Valerie stomped her foot so hard, she almost broke her pump heel. "Dammit, Teresa! You're lucky there's no one else around, so I can check in without being harassed." She quickly punched her time card into the clock. "And you should also be lucky that I'm in charge producing that commercial at the Empire City Park today. With any luck, I won't have any of my team members asking me stuff that has nothing to do with work!"

She started for the main doors. "I've worked too hard to deal with this crap, Teresa!"

She opened her car to get in, then looked at the dent on Teresa's passenger door. Just for revenge, she slammed her door into Teresa's twice more, making an even bigger dent. She revved her car up and drove to the park, laughing evilly. That would teach _her_ to gossip about a woman with a respectable salary!

* * *

It had been Valerie's busiest week yet. She spent that whole Monday morning watching fat models trundle down a fancy runway. Thank God it continued to be warm with no rain. That afternoon, she had the video crew editing and copying, and set up an appointment with Marina Brown, the owner of Pretty and Plump, for Wednesday morning. Meantime, Valerie had been preparing her speech for the meeting, and even previewed the commercial with her bosses. Mr. Sussex jokingly remarked, "It'll definitely make plus-size modeling more popular than ever." 

Luckily, Brown approved of the commercial. Valerie mentioned that the fashion show concept was Nicole's idea, and she was impressed. She said, "Honey, if your niece can come up with ideas like that, then she definitely can have a place in this game."

That afternoon, Valerie took Jeremy to their appointment at Prince Richard School for the Handicapped. She told the headmaster, "Jeremy seems to be very skillful in reading computers, geography, and even some music. But I'm afraid he's not good in anything else." She showed him Jeremy's report cards from Rysher. "His past teachers have commented that his handwriting can be sloppy, but assignments are mostly readable when typed out on the computer. They've even mentioned that when they testified in my divorce. It's improved somewhat over the years, but not much." She also revealed Jeremy's barriers and habits, including his slow speech, head-turning and sudden outbursts.

He went through a series of reading, speech and psychological tests. It took at least three hours, during which he was moving his head around three times. Afterwards, the headmaster saw just how serious Jeremy's conditions were. He said to Valerie, "Mrs. Boston, I have a feeling you've given us a very good candidate for our school. Here at Prince Richard, we teach our children things we believe they might be able to handle, like basic reading, mathematics, science and computers. But in the case of your son, I think Math and Science may definitely be out the question. We'll analyze the results and our interview, and see what courses may be available for Jeremy." Valerie got up and shook hands. "Thank you, Mrs. Boston. We'll be in touch by the start of next week at the latest."

"Thank you, sir," she replied. She gave her work phone number, her cell number, and Rhonda's phone number. "I'm in the process of moving into a new home, and I still don't know when I'll officially be changing addresses."

"That's perfectly understandable, ma'am. You'll be hearing from us soon."

And that night, Barricade decided to surprise her by showing up at Rhonda's house unannounced to take her to the movies. They went to see _Hatfield Loves McCoy_, a romantic comedy about that old American family feud set in modern-day time, and the Hatfield boy who was determined to get the McCoy girl, in attempt to marry her and finally end the feud, but she wanted no part of it. After the movie, Barricade and Valerie went to Sweet Marie's Donuts, the C.O.P.S.' favorite donut shop, for coffee and donuts. She talked about her appointment with Prince Richard's, then they debated the concept of the movie. They talked about whether a Hatfield-McCoy marriage would happen in real life.

"You're kidding me, right, Valerie?" Barricade asked. "That feud started in 1863, and had been going on for almost thirty years, for God's sake. I've been to the Hatfield-McCoy Reunion Festival several times. Judging by what I saw, the current generations are still going at it. Strong, I might add."

"Why they still name pride as one of the seven deadly sins," Valerie laughed. "The more prideful members might still have hairs up their asses about ancient history, but I'm sure that if a boy from one family and a girl from the other fell in love deeply enough, they'd be able to understand. Besides, they officially called a truce almost two decades ago. Something like a happy marriage should've happened already by now."

"That would make good publicity, wouldn't it?" Barricade sipped some coffee and took a bite on a glazed donut. "But still, I think they'd have to be out of their minds to marry some of their family members off to each other. I think I asked some of them about it, and they just laughed it off."

"Sounds like there's too much harmony in those families." She took another jelly donut. "But we still need to be optimistic."

Finally, Friday night came. Hardtop had called three nights earlier to say he would pick her up from work. She tried to pass up, saying "I don't want Teresa announcing to the whole agency which one of you guys I'm dating this time."

But he had assured her, "Every working woman wants her date to pick her up at work. It'll be nothing. I just wait for you to come out of your office in your best outfit, and off we go from there."

That proved to be a big mistake, because Teresa could easily identify him as he said, "I'm here for Valerie Boston." He didn't even give his name. Moreover, when Valerie met him at the reception desk (in a scarlet red dress, matching high heels and full makeup,) Teresa turned on her megaphone and said, "Attention all employees! Our advertising dynamo, Valerie Boston, is about to go out on yet another date with a member of C.O.P.S., Officer–"

Valerie stopped her, but it was too late. Co-workers had left their offices to glance at her and Hardtop. Thankfully, neither Cindy nor Elise were in that crowd. Right away, the comments started.

"First Mace, then Hardtop? My, but Valerie can't seem to make a decision."

"She never told me she had a fetish for authority figures."

"You've got to be kidding me. He looks to be at least eight years younger than her."

Humiliated, Valerie grabbed Hardtop and led him out of the agency to her car. She told him, "We're all one big happy family… unfortunately."

He insisted on driving, saying, "I've made reservations at this hotel to have dinner in their restaurant. It's less expensive than all those four-star places." She looked at him strangely. Did Mace tell him that she didn't like her men spending so much money on her? Or was Hardtop a stickler for budgeting his money? If it was the latter, then she wondered what his home looked like.

Hardtop drove onto Amazon. Valerie cringed, thinking about that high bill Mace had to pay from Vivaldi. She looked somewhat apprehensive as she said, "Uh, Hardtop, I think this is where most of the expensive restaurants are. Are you sure the place you reserved is on this street?"

"I checked the address when I made the call," he answered. "The meals they have cost twenty to forty bucks."

"Twenty at the cheapest? Didn't you say this was a family restaurant?"

"Hey, this is Empire City. What did you expect, chicken fingers and fries for $5.39? A Coke for $1.75? C'mon, this city's not that cheap."

"Sorry, I keep expecting this to be more like Parrish." She sighed, looking homesick, but trying not to show it too much. "Well, it has to be better than seventy-five and fifty dollars, right? This city's nice, but I can't believe how expensive stuff can be. It's as if you're expected to be extravagant."

"Extravagant, no. But you do have to have a lot of money."

They stopped at the Golden Fingers Hotel. At the registration desk, Hardtop said, "We made reservations for the restaurant here." The desk clerk nodded slowly and directed them. This looked very bad to Valerie. It was as if he thought she was too old to date Hardtop. She looked back as Hardtop opened the restaurant door, and he was still staring.

When they were seated, she started looking around at the décor. Golden walls lined with booths, and round tables in the center of the dining room. Six crystal chandeliers on the ceiling. Each booth had a potted plant on the wall, the pots painted in silver and bronze stripes.

"How elegant," she said. "It's almost like those ritzy places I've been to on business trips."

They ordered coffee, received menus, and Valerie explored the dinner entrées section. She was attracted to the herb salmon with baked potato and vegetables. A healthy meal to help keep her trim for Hardtop and his colleagues. But the steak burger with her choice of fries and potato was tempting.

"I don't know," she said. "What are you having, Hardtop?"

"There's a good chicken meal on here," he said. "Three pieces of the golden fried stuff with French fries."

Valerie searched that section for it, and found it below the broiled lobster. "Twenty-one dollars, huh? Oh, but that sounds way too fattening. The herb salmon is only thirty. Hmm, you want to split the bill if I have this, Hardtop? I don't want you to spend so much money so I can have a good dinner."

"Sure, we can pay for our own meals." He lowered his menu for a glimpse of her. "I really do like you, Valerie. I like that a woman doesn't want to be spoiled."

The waiter came back, and Valerie ordered her herb salmon first. He smiled at her and said, "Very good, ma'am." He glanced at Hardtop. "And what would your little brother like?"

Valerie and Hardtop's faces were as red as apples. She couldn't believe the waiter suggested that he was too young for her. She corrected him, "Uh, actually, I'm his date."

"Really?" he asked, staring at Hardtop again. Hardtop ordered, "Uh, I'll have the three-piece chicken dinner with French fries, please."

Valerie glared at the waiter as he went back to the kitchen. "I can't believe he actually said that," she said lowly. "That's one serviceman who's _not_ getting a tip."

"What in hell was that 'little brother' comment about?" Hardtop mused. "I think I was more embarrassed than you were."

"He could guess our ages, I'll bet," she answered. "I know it's not proper for me to tell you, but I'm pushing forty. I think I've only got another month to go before my birthday. And you're, what, thirty-one?"

"Thirty-three," he corrected. He studied her face, hair and body above the table. "But truthfully, you don't look a day over thirty." She blushed and said a soft, "thank you."

They spent the time waiting for the food talking about their careers. Valerie talked about her accomplishments at the agency, her two projects that the clients bought. Now, "No sooner do I get back from my appointment with my son's potential school, that I learn that one of the other salaried managers, Catherine Regis, is sick because of her diabetes. She must have been so stressed out; that plays a damn good part in neglecting to care for yourself. So, the bosses ask me to take over her project – a brochure for Evie Cosmetics about a new product they're launching this summer, the Derm-Active Skin Solution, for acne problems."

"Pull that one off, and you'll be looking at a big first paycheck," Hardtop grinned.

He wanted to hear more about Jeremy, so Valerie just talked about his condition, and the appointment at Prince Richard's. She talked about Jeremy's academic strengths, and the tests he did. "I'm confident that he'll be accepted, and given a special schedule based upon what he can learn."

Then she asked about Hardtop. He replied, "I'm a vehicle expert for C.O.P.S., and speaking as one, I must say I was less than impressed driving your station wagon."

"But, Hardtop, my father got me that for me when I graduated college," she protested. "I especially use the back for luggage space. I tend to travel some, and will do so as I advance here. And we're putting the finishing touches on furnishing my new house, so Jeremy and I will need it for all our suitcases and boxes. Rhonda and Karen say we should be able to move tomorrow."

"But nobody drives station wagons anymore. They haven't for at least ten years." He sipped some of his coffee. "Nowadays, cars are being built with extra trunk spaces, so you can hold up to three big boxes and suitcases each."

Valerie widened her eyes and smiled a bit. "Wow, you do know a lot about cars. But I probably can't afford it. They're around what, eighty thousand?"

Hardtop paused, then, "Ooh, hadn't thought of that. Well, I'm sure if you save enough, you'll be able to afford it in six months."

Their meals arrived, and Valerie was delighted by the look of four salmon fillets with lemon on top, the buttery potato, and mixture of corn, peas and carrots. She was glad she didn't order the chicken. She convinced herself the skin and the grease would make her gain weight. Everything was going well until the waiter returned with the coffee.

"Would you and your little brother like some more coffee?" he asked Valerie.

She gave him an evil look, like she'd stayed up all night without getting sleepy. "I told you, he's my date!" she said through her teeth.

When he was gone, she looked at Hardtop and said, "Hey, why don't you give me your fork, and I'll give you a piece of my salmon." He lent it to her, and she speared a strip of her salmon, and fed it to him.

"Ahh, that tasted wonderful," he said. "I'll have to order this next time I come here. Do you want a piece of chicken?"

She shook her head. "I only eat the broiled stuff. All that grease is disgusting and unhealthy for me."

The waiter came to take their dishes and offer more coffee. Valerie said, "No more coffee for me, please."

"None for me, either," Hardtop said.

"Fine then, sir," the waiter said. "Would you and your big sister like to see the dessert table?"

Infuriated, Valerie pounded the table and quickly stood up. "That's it!" she yelled. "Can't an older woman have a romantic dinner date with a younger man without being subjected to the same stupid comments like that! _If I were a man and he were a woman, you wouldn't keep commenting about the age difference_!"

All conversations in the restaurant stopped then, and everyone was staring at Valerie and Hardtop. She looked around at them, and could probably tell what they were thinking. To her, half the room thought, _Why did she talk so loudly, and act so rude to that waiter?_ Maybe she wanted to take that back. But the other half probably thought, _What is a man so young doing with a woman so old?_ They were staring at her old lady face and hair. Too bad the restaurant had no windows; she desperately wanted to jump out of one.

Worse, in the silence, Hardtop heard footsteps approaching. He turned and saw an African-American woman wearing a purple jacket and skirt with a white blouse. Her hairdo looked a little funky, yet poofy. Yet Valerie could recognize her almost easily.

"Hey, I know you," she said to her. "You're, uh… uh… uh…"

"Whitney Morgan," the woman replied.

"Yeah! Whitney Morgan, the newswoman!" Valerie said enthusiastically. "I watch you whenever I catch the news. My sister, Karen, says you're really good."

"Thank you," Whitney said. She looked at Hardtop and asked, "Uh, who is this woman, and what are you doing with her?"

Valerie suddenly looked surprised. "What? What do you mean, what is he doing with me? What, are you…?" She was now staring at Hardtop, too. "Hardtop, what's going on here? You never told me about Ms. Morgan here. What, is she your girlfriend or something?"

"It's only a little crush, Valerie," Hardtop explained. He turned to Whitney. "Whitney, you know this. I like you and all, but…"

But Valerie was already disgusted. "Well, this is just great. At first, I was nervous about going out with you because of the fact that I was older than you. But now you spring THIS on me! Now I really want to pull the tablecloth out and put it over my head!"

"Valerie, I'm sorry!" Hardtop cried. "Let me explain!"

"What's to explain?" she asked. "Turns out you have a crush on another woman, and it'll eventually get bigger. Hardtop, I don't think we should see each other anymore. I'm paying for my meal and I'm leaving." On her way out, she addressed Whitney. "Look, Ms. Morgan, I'm sorry I ever got involved with your boyfriend. You can have him now." She paid her half of the bill on her way out.

She felt uneasy and ashamed as she drove back to Rhonda's house. It was the most embarrassing date she ever had. Thank God they didn't make it to the poetry reading. She didn't even have anything written for it, let alone anything she could dedicate to Hardtop.

* * *

A/N: So that's Chapter Eight updated. As mentioned before, I may bring Commissioner Highwater (borrowed character) in to interact at Valerie's business. Working on Chapter Nine now, and I'm hoping to get it up by the end of this month. See you then. 


	9. The Home, The Flowers, The Notes, The Vi...

**Author's Note:** First off, again, thanks to skyefire for reading and reviewing, although they're short and sweet. Are you sure you're not finding any problems in the story that I can go back and fix, plot-wise? I really appreciate it, though. I still wish more people read and reviewed though. Maybe we should e-mail all the cartoon fanatics on this site and clue them in about this sub-category. And BTW, how's your hip?

Anyhow, here's chapter nine. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 9

By the end of the weekend, Valerie and Jeremy moved into their new home. She and Rhonda were amazed with the way Karen decorated the house. The living room sofa and tables were placed near the dining room. Karen surprised her sister with a new wall unit and entertainment center, complete with a 30-inch TV and DVD player. Valerie opened the drawers where DVD movies are to be kept. They were all empty.

"Don't worry," Karen said. "Tomorrow night, we'll go shopping for movies. We'll buy enough to fill all the drawers. Then, you can invite all your dates over for movies, and Jeremy can watch with you."

She showed them the new computer room. She chose a Mavex for Valerie, one the latest PC models, with a flat-screen monitor. A scanner on one side, and a Jeld-Wen laser-jet printer on the other. She sat down to test the new computer. Its Internet was working very well. She also saw an "office" computer program that contained a word processor, spreadsheets, databases and a slideshow presentation maker. There was a separate program for e-mails and contact management.

Karen decided to set Valerie up with an e-mail account now. She asked what address Valerie wanted, and she replied, "SuperCareerMom – all one word – at Mavex-dot-com."

Karen typed in the address, but it wasn't accepted. "Uh, no good, Valerie," she said. "It's already been taken. But here are some alternatives, what do you want?"

Valerie looked over the options. SuperCareerMom2896, SuperCareerMom2899 and SuperCareerMom2902. She chose 2896. Two steps later, Valerie had an account. She smiled and said, "That is perfect. I can't wait to give the C.O.P.S. my new address. Oh, but I'm already imagining all the love poems and the date invitations. I just hope it doesn't fall into the Big Boss's hands."

Rhonda rolled her eyes. "So delete those e-mails, and put their addresses on the spam blocker," she told her.

Karen showed them the bedrooms next. Valerie was overjoyed at the bed, the purple bedding she wanted. She threw herself onto it and immediately became comfortable. She was moaning ecstatically and crying, "Oh, it's perfect! And it matches the whole room."

She soon noticed her new dresser, lilac edges with violet drawers. Karen said, "I had them paint this to match the colors of the room." She gave her a remote, and Valerie used it to open and close various drawers.

"Works just fine," Rhonda said.

"Moving on to Jeremy's room," Karen declared.

Valerie and Jeremy were impressed by the boy's room, the bed in the middle, the dresser, the small bookcase. But the walls weren't painted like Karen promised. She immediately apologized and said, "Maybe when school is out, and Sheldon's out of the hospital, I'll send the boys over here to paint this."

"How is Sheldon, anyway?" Valerie asked. She and her sisters started downstairs.

"He's getting much better," Karen answered. "But the doctors want to keep him until high school exams are over. It's such a shame you ladies couldn't make much time to visit, with your careers and all. Makes me thank God I'm an at-home mother and computer-based businesswoman."

The recreation room in the basement was just like the living room, except the easychair and recliner were propped up against the wall with a high-level window. Facing the sofa was a 40-inch flat-screen TV built into the wall. Valerie was also amazed by a jukebox with over three hundred song selections, with music from the 1980's onward. That was another surprise from Karen.

She took Valerie into her exercise room. She saw all the equipment Rhonda and Karen helped pick out. A treadmill with built-in heart rate monitors, elliptical, upright cycle, and granite home gym. In the corner, she noticed a gymnastic ball and a rolled-up yoga mat. Just as they were leaving, Jeremy had come out of his recreation room, and said, "Thanks… for the… new… desk,… Auntie… Karen."

"Yeah, thanks for what you did to this home," Valerie added. "I can't wait to call the C.O.P.S. and give them my new address."

* * *

That same day, the Big Boss and his gang all broke out of prison. They'd stayed there for almost a full week – the longest anyone in that group had been there. The guards and justice machines had been keeping the closest watch on them, at Bulletproof's request. They'd spent days behaving themselves as an act to put on for the authorities. But at night, Big Boss would be working away at his escape plan in his cell. Those who shared his cell were considerably quiet when they helped plan, even the usually loud and boisterous Berserko. 

When they were making their prison break-out, Dr. Badvibes and Rock Crusher went down to the prison laundry, and on their way out, Crusher pulled the fire alarm when nobody was looking. They left quickly to join the rest of the gang, as the other prisoners were escorted out. Outside prison walls, they secretly broke from the rest of the prisoners, and spied a bus unloading. They waited until the last of the prisoners passed, then they snuck around the bus and got on. Buttons McBoomBoom readied his machine gun, aiming it at the driver.

"Awright, buddy," he threatened, "this is our bus now. Get the fuck off, we're takin' this thing into the city!" Stammering and frightened, the driver did as he was told. Buttons kicked him off as he was walking down the steps, then closed the doors. Big Boss settled in the driver's seat, revved up and drove off.

Several guards and prisoners noticed Big Boss driving the bus, and they immediately called for a capture. But Buttons prepared himself, opening the window of the first unoccupied seat, aiming his gun at the guards outside and shooting. He shot several in their lower torsos, legs and feet, and laughed as he watched them fall, agonizing over their injured limbs. When they were sure they were away from the prison, he grabbed a duffel bag full of their clothes from the Big Boss, took his outfit, and tossed the bag to the rest of the gang.

"Hey, Unca Big Boss," Berserko called as he was changing clothes, "when we get back to Empire City, are we gonna try again at pursuin' that Valerie Boston lady?"

"No, Berserko," Big Boss replied sarcastically. "We're gonna make her our personal whore, then after each one of us guys takes his turn, we give her a thousand bucks and cast her out in the street." He turned around to face his nephew, running a red light. "Of _course_ we're gonna try and pursue her again! And we'll be brainstormin' plans when we get back, so I want each of you to think of somethin'."

* * *

"Excellent work, Ms. Boston," Helen Quinette said about the completed brochure that Tuesday. "I knew Mr. Lancer made the right choice, having you fill in for Ms. Regis." 

"It was no sweat at all," Valerie replied. When Valerie returned from her disastrous date with Hardtop, she was so vexed, she immediately got onto the Derm-Active Skin Solution assignment. She stayed up until past two in the morning, typing up all the information given to her, downloading the photos, diagrams and illustrations, and adding them. The next afternoon, she e-mailed her team members with the completed document, telling them to convert it into the eight-page brochure that Quinette wanted. But she never told what motivated her. She knew it was unprofessional to discuss one's personal life to clients. She just said, "I just took care of the text and images. I left the 'brochure' part up to my team." She grinned at the assignment team sitting with her.

Just as Quinette was about to approve, they heard Teresa over the PA. "Attention all employees! Beautiful, romantic 'I Love You' bouquets have arrived for Valerie Boston. Valerie, please pick them up at the reception desk."

She excused herself and went to see Teresa, thinking how strange that message was. Normally, she would announce who the bouquets were from, causing more gossip among the staff. But maybe this was Teresa's way of apologizing to Valerie. Or maybe she was too angry to be in a giddy mood. Her tone over the PA did sound a little blunt.

She saw five dozen roses sitting on Teresa's desk. Each bouquet was a different color – light blue, pink, lilac purple, white and yellow – in matching plastic vases. Each contained an envelope with Valerie's name on it, the colors matching the roses. Teresa had an innocent look, eyes rolled, whistling, twiddling her thumbs.

"Did you peek to see who these were from?" Valerie asked.

"No," Teresa answered. "They came here on the way back to their headquarters. I knew about them, but they wished to be kept anonymous."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "As beautiful as they are, you brought me out of a meeting for this?" She went back to the meeting room. "Put them all on the desk in my office, would you please?"

When the meeting was over, and the brochure was approved, she went to her office and her bouquets. She felt a few from each one, and noted they were all made of silk. Just like the white roses Barricade gave her. She looked at the white bouquet; could that be from Barricade as well? She opened the white envelope and read the note inside. It was from Highway, whom she'd never dated yet. Valerie was immediately interested. She'd wondered what his plans were.

_Dear Valerie,_ it read. _From the first time I met you at the police picnic, I'd thought only of you. What are you doing in advertising when you could've been a movie or stage actress, or a famous singer? Your beautiful looks, lyrical voice, and bubbly personality could've gotten you that far. I am single, have never married, and have no children of my own – although I love them very much, and am very good with them. Just ask my nephews when I take you to meet my family! And when Tyler introduced us all to Jeremy, I thought of how sweet, innocent and loving he is. He deserves to have a father who can be both a parent and a friend to him. A kid who suffered a much as he did at the hands of his birth father needs it. But first, I want to get to know you, to see if we have a romantic future, a future with me in your family. Please call me at 555-3740. I want to see and hear you so much. Sincerely, David "Highway" Harlson._

She re-read that line about Highway's nephews and meeting his family, and laughed. "So, he thinks he's got the best odds, does he?" she said to herself. "Yeah, I'll call him at home. We'll see what we see." She was focused on that line about her being an actress and singer, and laughed louder. She thought back to her high school drama class, when they put on a performance of _Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?_ Her teacher had always been frustrated with her lack of talent, but that disastrous performance proved that she didn't have a future in Hollywood. And she was a horrible singer, despite her light-sounding voice; people always said she sounded like a squeaking mouse when she sang. "And note to self: remind Highway that you've always been terrible at performing arts." She put the note back in the envelope and put it in her desk.

She put the white bouquet aside, and scanned the rest for Barricade's. She singled out the yellow bouquet. It made her think of that really old country song, _Yellow Rose in Texas_, and she believed those were from Sundown. She'd open the yellow envelope last. She looked at the pink bouquet and opened that envelope next. She saw a note from another member of C.O.P.S. whom she'd never dated, Bowzer.

_Dear Valerie,_ it read. _I can't believe it's been two weeks, and I still have yet to date you. Whenever I think of your lovely face, I think of how foolish I was to have never gotten your number from Mace, Sundown or Barricade. And while they've never really kissed and told, from what they were hinting, you seem like someone I want to care about and call my own. I've been single, childless and alone my whole adult life, living only with my cyborg K-9 dog, Blitz, never finding that someone I could classify as really special. But with you, I feel my luck blossoming like these flowers would have if they were real. I dream of you every night, and you always disappear before we kiss. I don't want that to really happen to me. You can keep that from happening, Valerie. Please call me at 555-4106. I want to speak to you. I want to see you. Love, Rex "Bowzer" Pointer._

Valerie was laughing harder than she did at Highway's note, and the bouquet. A K-9 officer, who's supposed to be just as tough as his best friend on four legs, sending her pink roses. When she calmed down, she said, "What, the store couldn't find any metallic roses for you?" She looked over that part about his cyborg dog and became concerned. Valerie had never even owned a pet, much less a dog. She always believed Jeremy could never handle the responsibility. Besides, she was terrified to let Jeremy near big dogs, especially German Shepherds, still the popular breed for police. She always feared they will attack him.

She planned to tell Bowzer to keep Blitz away from Jeremy until she was sure he'd be able to handle him. She put the note back in its envelope and put it in her desk.

She looked at the purple bouquet next. "That'll look so nice in my new bedroom," she said to herself. She took the envelope and opened it. She was delighted to see a note from Mace.

_Dear Valerie,_ it read. _I know I've been a bit busy to do anything other than call you. But I want you to know that I've never stopped thinking of you. I've never stopped talking to my colleagues about you. And I've definitely never stopped thinking about the next time we'll see each other. I hope it's soon. I want to have that same bond with Jeremy that all men want with their boys. I've never been a husband or father, but I swear I'll be a thousand times better than your ex-husband was. Now that it's over with Nightshade forever, I want to take our romance further. Please call me sometime. I hope you still have my number. Love, Mace._

Valerie moaned ecstatically, but noticed her door was open. She waited a few moments to see if anyone would come in. No one did, so she put Mace's note back in the envelope, then stepped out to see a lone co-worker leaving the washroom. She quickly went back to her desk to conceal another love note.

She took the envelope from the blue bouquet. This had to be from Barricade, she believed. She opened the envelope, took out the paper, and was pleased to see she assumed correctly.

_Dear Valerie,_ it read. _I'm so glad I was able to surprise you with that movie Wednesday night. I'm really happy with your progress in your career, and that you've found a suitable school for Jeremy. I know you both have what it takes to make it here in Empire City. Whenever I think of you, I think of the wonderful future you deserve in life. You already know me as a sincere man, a kind soul, and I choose these blue flowers to match the likes of your eyes, and your personality as wonderful as the blue sky. Every time someone mentions your name, I'm quick to convince them that I deserve your love the most. And just as I think of Jeremy, I think of the gentleness and protection I provided that Saturday at the park. I know it's what he needs, and that it's me he wants. And I know the same is true for you. There's not a lie in this letter, and I want you to know that if you choose me, I promise to remain truthful to you. All my love, Barricade._

Valerie pressed the note against her chest and sighed happily. She loved the kindness in the letter. She couldn't wait to show him her new home. She wondered what he would be like if she invited him to share her bed. She was already picturing him with his arms around her neck, her head on his abdominals, stroking her hair. He would show that same sense of warmth and sincerity he showed on his dates.

She put both the note and envelope in her desk separately, just in case she wanted to read it again. She took the yellow envelope and opened it immediately. The note was from Sundown, like she assumed, and she almost fainted when she read it.

_My darling Valerie_, it read. _Every time I fall asleep in my bed, I imagine you there with me, your head upon my shoulder, your fingers running through my chest hair. I imagine you kissing my neck and working your way to my waist. If only it were no longer my imagination, that you were actually here with me. I long to run my fingers through your beautiful hair, as I kiss you all over your body, like a woman deserves. Just as we danced last Saturday night, I fell deeper and deeper in love with you. I've gone so far beyond the point of confirming real love now. I don't know how much longer I can bear the loneliness. That's why I thought of you immensely, as I called the next afternoon, and you weren't there. Please give me a call. I need to be with you again. I love you. Sundown._

She immediately thought of that dancing date with Sundown that Saturday night, after she finished her part of the brochure. The way they tangoed, two-stepped and waltzed at the country club made her forget about Hardtop completely. She especially enjoyed the waltzing, when he stared at her face and smiled, and put her head against his neck and chest. Now she was confused. She took out Barricade's note and re-read it. Between Barricade's sincerity and Sundown's touch, she didn't know who she wanted. If Mace, Highway or Bowzer tried anything to lure her in, she'd have more trouble.

She'd just put the last envelope and notes in her desk when her phone rang. She picked it up after the second ring. "Lancer and Sussex, this is Valerie Boston speaking."

"Mrs. Boston, this is Diane Lancaster from Prince Richard's School for the Handicapped," said the voice on the other end. "I'm calling about registration for your son, Jeremy."

"Have you come to a decision?" Valerie asked.

"We will be admitting your son to our school beginning in the fall semester," Ms. Lancaster replied.

"Really!" she shouted, then lowered her voice a bit. "That's great to hear. I can't wait to tell my family. Jeremy will be so excited."

"We are making out a schedule for him right now," Ms. Lancaster said. "It will be mailed to you by this week's end. May I have your mailing address, please?"

Valerie gave her new address, then said another thank you and hung up. She opened her desk for another peek at her love notes.

* * *

After work, Valerie asked Teresa to help her put the flowers in her car. She decided to go to C.O.P.S. headquarters to thank her admirers personally. She should remember where it was. She passed it every time she went downtown. 

She found the visitor parking lot in the back of the building. She checked the back seat. The purple and blue bouquets were on the seat, while the others were on the floor. She wondered where she could place them so they wouldn't get stolen. She knew she couldn't put them in the back. The side and back windows were too big. Any thief in Empire City could take them if she put them there.

She put the blue bouquet down with the others, put the purple one in the middle of the seat, then locked all her doors. She rushed into the headquarters, hoping not to take too long, maybe a five-minute chat with whoever was there.

She saw Mainframe sitting at the crime computer, scanning the north end of the city. Hardtop and Mirage were at their desks, typing up police reports. Valerie quickly looked away before Hardtop could make eye contact. None of the other C.O.P.S. were there. However, Mainframe could feel a presence in the room, and she noticed Valerie standing there.

"Valerie?" she asked. "Valerie Boston? Well, it's fancy seeing you here."

Valerie glanced at Hardtop. She was certain he'd notice her presence once his colleague acknowledged her. He looked up, gave her only a smug look, then returned to his paperwork. Meantime, Mainframe had left the computer, approaching Valerie.

"So, are you looking for anyone?" she asked her.

"Yes," Valerie answered, trying not to seem nervous. "I got some bouquets of flowers at work from some of the C.O.P.S. Barricade, Sundown, Mace, Highway and Bowzer, in fact. I gather they're all out on assignment?"

"Uh huh," Mainframe replied. "Big Boss and his gang just broke from prison, and now they're all robbing the Museum of Medieval and Renaissance History, as well as the Empire City Mint."

Valerie groaned in misery and horror. "Crap! Then I guess they're all out for me next! Listen, that probably means I can't stay long, so would you please tell them that I got the flowers they sent and–"

Suddenly, she heard a voice from behind call her name. She turned to see Sundown escorting Turbo Tu-Tone to be booked. She noticed Turbo eyeing her, licking his lips, so she went over and kicked him in the leg. While he was hopping around in pain, Valerie handed him over to Mainframe to deal with. Then she put her arms around Sundown and kissed him.

Unbeknownst to her, all the other C.O.P.S. who were on the case walked into the headquarters with the rest of Big Boss' gang. Bulletproof was in the back, yet he seemed to catch the kissing. He went up to Valerie and touched her shoulder. She turned and caught his disapproving glare.

"Valerie, you do not kiss a police officer like that when he is on duty," he lectured.

Embarrassed, she took her arms from Sundown's neck and mumbled, "Sorry, Bulletproof." She turned back to Sundown. "Thank you for the flowers you sent, and that beautiful note."

"I gave you those yellow roses because of my Texan roots," Sundown said. "I thought you'd love 'em. Oh, but you were so wonderful to me Saturday night, I thought you'd call me the next day. I waited all day for ya. An' late Sunday afternoon, I call and git your sister's answerin' machine? Can you tell me why, Valerie? Why you'd romance me all night, an' not bother to git in touch after? Did you think of me in your negligence?"

Valerie's feelings turned from embarrassment to shame. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Sundown. Sorry to any of you C.O.P.S. who were expecting me to call. It's just that I spent that whole day finishing the last of my packing, and helping Jeremy with his. I just moved into my new house."

"New house?" Berserko questioned. "You mean you ain't livin' with your sister no more?"

"What's yer address?" Buttons asked. "I'd love to come over an' give you what these coppers can't."

Valerie shuddered and spat at the crooks, "All right, let me make something very clear to you crooks. First off, I wouldn't let you fuck me if these were made of stone." She grabbed at her breasts. "Secondly, if word got out that I actually had a relationship with any of _you_, I'd probably have my son taken from me, and placed in his father's custody. Do you think I want that? No! Thirdly, the C.O.P.S. I've fallen for treat me better than you probably ever would! And there are more who want a chance with me."

"C'mon!" Crusher objected. "I gots me more brawn than any of these C.O.P.S. ever do!" Valerie saw him pump his chest. "You sure you don't want me?"

Valerie sighed harshly and addressed the C.O.P.S. "I'm sorry, you guys, but I'm not giving out my new address and phone number until _these_ clowns are booked and out of my sight!"

She sat in the nearest chair and waited fifteen minutes. She looked away, so she wouldn't give the crooks any eye contact. When they were all gone, she noted Mace, Barricade, Sundown, Highway and Bowzer all had their ticket notepads open. She smiled and gave them her new home address and number. "181 Turin Lane. 575-2531."

They all jotted the information down, then Valerie went up to them and kissed their cheeks. Upon kissing Bowzer, she glanced at Blitz and whispered to the dog handler, "Uh, would you mind leaving the pooch at your place if you come over to see me? I'm not really a dog person, and I don't know what'll happen with my son." Bowzer gave a small nod.

She glanced at Bulletproof, who gave no expression and said nothing. She turned back to his followers and said, "Thanks for the lovely flowers and notes. They were so beautiful. I hope each of you will call me. I'll talk to you all later." She left the headquarters.

When she returned to her car, she noticed each of her bouquets were still there. "Thank God!" she said to herself. "Praise anti-theft technology for automatic locks and shatter-proof windows."

When she got settled, she started laughing at herself, and her thoughts of theft. "This is a police station, Valerie. What the hell made you think anyone would steal anything around _this_ place?" She checked the glove compartment, and noticed the accompanying notes she'd tossed in there. She revved up the car and drove away. "You'd think they'd know better, and they wouldn't get too far if they did."

She decided to take some of the bouquets into the house before picking up Jeremy. Maybe she'd keep two in the car to show Karen. When Valerie got to her home, she took the blue, white and pink bouquets inside. She placed the pink bouquet on the living room coffee table. Likewise, she decided to use the white bouquet as a centerpiece for the dining room table. Finally, she placed the blue bouquet in her bedroom, on top of her dresser.

She went back to her car. The yellow bouquet was on the floor in the passenger's side, where she'd always had it. She'll put the purple bouquet there, too. That way, she believed, Jeremy wouldn't be able to touch them until she got them home. She got in again, and drove to Karen's house.

* * *

**A/N:** I know it's short, considering many of my other chapters. I was thinking of putting Valerie's dates with Highway and Bowzer here, but I felt they'd be best read in the next chapter. See you then. 


	10. To Love And Love Not

Chapter 10

Two evenings later, Valerie was at home, completing an assignment on her new computer. It was a magazine advertisement for a breakfast food company called Dempsey Breakfast Foods Limited, the agency's newest client. She was to create an ad to help launch a brand new breakfast cereal, Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs. The cereal, she was told, consisted of crunchy puff balls of pink, white and fudge brown, which tasted like strawberry, vanilla and chocolate.

Valerie had been working on it consistently since it was assigned to her Tuesday afternoon – the day she received her silk rose bouquets. She did all the necessary research for her write-up pitch – gathering nutrition information, determining why kids might want to eat it, thinking up quirky phrases and lines that might appeal to buyers. She was given a box of the cereal to do her assignment with.

She decided to use Jeremy in the ad. That evening, she gave him a bowl of Neapolitan ice cream (from the refrigerator freezer; Karen had showed her the groceries she bought for the house last.) She took several pictures of him eating and downloaded them on her computer. The next morning, she took more pictures of him eating the cereal. He loved it so much, he ate two more spoonfuls quickly. Valerie had to tell him, "Slow down, Jeremy. I have to show the cereal in the bowl as you eat. Put the spoon a few inches away from your mouth, okay?"

Now, she was typing the final draft of her pitch and adding it to the ad. She was satisfied with the pictures Mr. Sussex chose, and the clever headline: _Yes, your kids can have dessert for breakfast._

She'd just started typing the final paragraph when she heard the doorbell. She heard Jeremy call, "Don't… worry,… Mom! I'll… get it!"

He opened the door to see a man with dark brown hair. He wore a black leather jacket and boots, with a white button-down shirt and blue jeans. He carried a white motorcycle helmet under his right arm. It was Highway, but Jeremy couldn't tell that.

Highway smiled and said, "Hi there, Jeremy. Is your Mom home?"

Jeremy stared at him and said, "Who… are… you… again?"

Highway laughed loudly and replied, "I'm Highway! Don't you remember me from the police picnic?" He chuckled when Jeremy let him in. "I guess you don't recognize me without my baseball cap, do you?" He took off his jacket and hung it in the closet, placing the helmet on the top shelf.

But Valerie became alert when she heard Highway introduce himself. "Highway, is that you?" she called. "Give me one minute while I finish this advertisement! Make yourself at home, okay?" She finished her pitch, and added a small picture of the box and bowl of cereal in the lower right-hand corner. While it was printing, she thought, _He came over here without ever calling. What is this, a blind date? Is this his way of surprising me?_

She came out with her finished product in hand. She saw Highway sitting in the living room with Jeremy, watching TV, and smiled. "Highway, how sweet!" she said. "You had the night off, and decided to make an impromptu date."

"Surprised?" Highway grinned.

"You bet I am." She kissed his cheek, and gave him her project. "Your verdict? Peter Dempsey, the company president, will be meeting with me tomorrow to give his final decision. Which reminds me, hold on while I print out a few more copies." She went back to the computer to print three more pages.

She came back to the living room to hear Highway say, "This is great, Valerie! I like this. I think it's very clever that you put Jeremy into this. Uh, that is Jeremy, isn't it?"

"Of course it is," Valerie replied. "I knew Mr. Sussex would go for it. He wants me to bring him to work tomorrow just so Mr. Dempsey could meet him. I told Sussex about Jeremy's syndrome, and I really hope he told Dempsey. I don't want this ad rejected because the client thinks my son is too ugly and bad-mannered to be a cereal spokeschild."

Highway looked down at Jeremy, and the boy grinned at him. Highway couldn't resist the sweetness and innocence of that grin. He smiled back at him, that same smile that said he wanted to be Jeremy's father. He put his hand upon the boy's shoulder and looked at Valerie.

"Nah," Highway said affectionately. "He's not ugly. He's sweet and special. And he deserves this promotion deal for this cereal." He turned his affections to Valerie. "He deserves someone who will take better care of him than his father ever did. He needs someone who will understand him, and constantly be there for him, just like you do."

Valerie gave him a shocking stare. "How did you know about Tom?" she asked.

"Elise told all of us at the picnic when she and Cindy were telling us about you?" he replied. He got up from the sofa and walked towards her. "She was talking about this 'stupid excuse of a man that you married.' Is that the Tom bastard? Because you don't need him. I don't care how much money he makes. And I don't care if every disciplinarian in the world tells you to go back and work things out with him."

Valerie stopped him. "Wait a minute. You said, 'disciplinarian.' How the hell did you know the reason for my divorce? He always put down my protective techniques, and said I wasn't disciplining him properly. How did you…"

"Just an educated guess." Highway's affections were becoming very strong now. He clicked off the TV. "But don't think about it. I told you it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter because you want to leave Tom in the past. I know you do. You need me to help you with that. And I can tell you're uncertain about the romantic future you want."

She was drawn into his charismatic feelings, and she knew these weren't just coy, lame lines that most women hear from men only wanting sex. At least, they didn't sound like lines to her. She could tell just by his face that he was being romantic and passionate. But it was as if it was getting out of control.

He stepped back, unbuttoned his shirt and removed it, and quickly pulled off the white T-shirt he wore underneath. Valerie immediately thought his chest looked gorgeous, but not as gorgeous as Mace or Sundown. But before she could look at his body all over, Highway stepped towards her, grabbed her and tumbled her towards the carpet. He said, "Well, let me decide that future for you." He brought her up to him in an amorous manner, and kissed her in a despairing passion.

Valerie broke from him to look at the sofa. Jeremy was no longer sitting there. Highway looked her way and smiled, as they were truly alone. He picked her up, cradled her, and dropped her on the sofa. Before she could speak or react, he got on top of her, and kissed her in a passion deeper than before.

She wanted to feel scared, but she realized that he wasn't trying to hurt her. For one thing, he was considerate enough to leave her clothes on. After a while, he brought his upper torso up, and she studied his face. It was indeed trustworthy, affectionate. He clutched her shoulders and brought her up with him, her chin touching his chest. Up close, it felt so smooth, so soft, like Jeremy had been as a baby.

"God, Highway," she breathed, "how long have you kept it like that? What, did you use that permanent hair removal shit? Ah, but it feels like a pearl." She proceeded to rub that chest, including the nipples. When she was through, she pressed her cheek onto it, and shifted her face down to his stomach. She stared at his belly button a few moments. She thought it was so cute, she kissed it lightly.

It tickled Highway so much, but he tried not to laugh too loudly. She looked up at his chuckling, and his smile told her it was another love. He touched her hair and replied, "And you kiss like… like… have you been reading those intimacy books?"

She laughed aloud. "Not that many. But I went shopping for DVD movies this week. I bought a lot of that romantic stuff that seems to fit my mood lately. We can watch one when we're done, and study all the bedroom scenes… if you want."

"Sounds perfect. Maybe then, we'll fall deeper in love."

Somehow, Valerie realized that Highway was competing for her heart, too. She wondered where he'd been learning about her romances with Mace, Sundown and Barricade. Surely, they weren't the types to "kiss and tell." Or maybe he'd thought up these clever techniques on his own.

_Dear God,_ she thought. _If Mace, Sundown and Barricade knew about this date, they'd be on Highway like flies on an animal corpse. But Barricade knows about Mace, and yet he's never bragged about having kicked his ass. And do they know about Sundown, too?_ Her head fell on the pillow. _God, but I have no idea what's going on. And I talk to them, but they don't mention anything. Maybe I'm too polite to ask._

Highway noticed how confused she looked. "Is everything all right, Valerie?" he asked. "You seem a little preoccupied."

"I'm fine," she replied. "It's just that… well… do any of your colleagues know you planned to spring this date on me? You never shared your, um, 'plan of attack' with them, did you?"

He laughed louder than she did. "Certainly not. In fact, I'm keeping _my_ romantic techniques under my wraps until I get the chance to spring you with my special gift, if you get my drift." He sat her up and started caressing her. "Remember my note, when I mentioned my family? Note I said, 'when' I take you to meet them, not 'if.' You know your mine, right, Valerie? If my passion has to turn to madness…"

She shoved him away playfully. "Okay, now you're officially coming on too strong. I know I'm yours? Passion turning to madness? Who are you, the Phantom of the Opera? Who am I, Christine Daae? Listen, I wouldn't count my chickens just yet, Highway."

Highway was about to respond when they heard Jeremy say, "Mom!" They turned to see him standing at the loveseat, a copy of _A Wrinkle in Time_ in his hand. "Is… the… naughty… stuff… over… yet?"

Highway went to get his button-down shirt. He put it on and was about to button it up, when Valerie said, "Oh, don't worry, Highway. He's seen bare-chested men before. No need to cover yourself up completely."

"Where'd you disappear to, Jeremy?" Highway asked.

"I was… downstairs… reading… in my… special… room," Jeremy answered. He sat on the loveseat, his back towards his mother and her date, and kept reading.

Highway whispered to Valerie, "Uh, shouldn't Jeremy be in bed by now? Young boys like him do need their sleep. Besides, we should be alone."

"He's only ten," she whispered. "And it's only a little after eight-thirty. He knows he has bedtime at nine, and he's usually tired by then."

She went over to the entertainment center, selected one of her adult contemporary music CD's, a jazz artist named Thomas Perrier, and put it in the player on the stereo. She strutted back to Highway, and they continued to make love quietly. She broke once to check on Jeremy. He was still reading, trying to ignore the soft kissing.

Twenty minutes later, she excused herself to get some champagne. "I don't suppose you want a glass, too, right?" she offered.

Highway nodded. "I'd love a glass. Thank you."

While she was in the kitchen, Highway checked on Jeremy. _He should be almost ready for bed now_, he thought. Sure enough, Jeremy's head was lowered and unmoving. He went towards him for a closer look. Jeremy's eyes were closed, and he was sleeping soundly. He picked the boy up, and was about to carry him off to bed, when Valerie returned with two full champagne glasses.

"I think he may be ready now," Highway whispered.

She put the champagne down and took Jeremy from him. "I'll put him to bed, thanks," she replied. In his bedroom, after tucking him in, she whispered, "Sleep well, sweetie. You and I have a big day tomorrow."

She came back to the living room and said softly, "Highway, what do you think of that movie now?"

He nodded and joined her at the entertainment center. "Uh, I had a chance to look at your floral arrangements," he said. "I actually think my flowers look nice in your dining room. Mace and Sundown's flowers also look nice on the end tables. And I'm no design expert, but Bowzer's flowers on the coffee table really coordinate the room." Valerie smiled and nodded her thanks.

They selected _Cruel Summer_, one of the newer films. Valerie read the synopsis. "A marrying niece needing a break from her wedding plans. Her aunt, confused in her romance, needing to find herself. Marilee Baillier, a young, lovely bride-to-be, is burned out with planning her fall wedding. Meantime, her aunt Kathy Handel, is a single parent unsure about her own engagement to a seldom-at-home businessman. Encouraged by Marilee's fiancé to take a long summer vacation, the women fly to Miami, only to find themselves surrounded by so much temptation. From the police and fire fighters to the beach regulars, from the tradesmen to the nightclub workers, the men of Miami are as hot and sexy as ever. And while Kathy is testing their waters, Marilee finds herself fighting their advances to stay true and devoted to her love back home. Can both romances survive this sexy summer vacation?"

"Sounds great!" Highway grinned. "Put it in."

Valerie excused herself and went back to the kitchen. Moments later, she returned with the champagne bottle in the bucket she kept. Rhonda and Richard gave her the bucket as a wedding gift when she married Tom. She'd decided to use it only when she had company. She put the bucket on the table. She also had the box of chocolates that had been left to her.

Highway and Valerie spent the next one hundred fifteen minutes sipping champagne and eating chocolate, while watching two women deal with lustful temptations. Valerie loved the beautiful summertime views of Miami beaches and streets, and that the men who lived there were as sexy as ever in their forties and fifties. She looked over at her date, and noticed Highway was slightly jealous of the men.

She partially removed his shirt, just down to his elbows, and put her arms around him below his chest. She whispered, "Don't worry, baby. You may be in your early forties, but I know you still have it." She grinned and thought, _And so do your colleagues in your age group._

"What I want to know is, what is their secret for looking so attractive?" he asked. "I know about eating healthy and staying active, but I think they also use anti-aging cream for their wrinkles and lines." Valerie laughed and punched him lightly.

They were watching the Kathy Handel character having glorified sex with a police sergeant who looked to be at least fifty-five. "What about her?" Valerie commented. "She's got to be forty-eight, at least. She looks like she could use some wrinkle cream and hair coloring."

One sex scene later, Valerie began to feel frisky. She got on top of Highway and removed his shirt totally. She said, "I think we've had enough studying time." She kissed his lips, then went down to his neck and chest.

He touched her shoulder and she stopped. "We're still watching a movie," he said. "If you still want to afterwards, we can–"

"Nice try," she said. "Look, I tend to make love on the first date, but I do _not_ do the mattress Macarena until much later – if we make it that far. There's a difference."

"Not even if you know it's love on the first date?"

"Cardinal rule, Highway. Every dating woman has to follow it."

"Fair enough." Highway got Valerie off him, he put his clothes back on, and they finished watching the movie. At eleven, she walked him to the door and kissed him good night. He left the house and rode away on his motorcycle.

* * *

"I don't believe this, Valerie," Elise said at lunch the next day. "I mean, it's one thing if Peter Dempsey takes your advertisement after looking at Jeremy in it, but now he wants to have him star in commercials, too?" 

Valerie was at the Royal Empire Mall food court with Jeremy, Elise and Cindy. Valerie was eating some Chinese noodles, and nearly spat out her current mouthful at Elise's thoughts. But she swallowed and reassured her, "It's just something that Mr. Sussex told everyone in his confidence. Mr. Dempsey said he was going to go over it with his staff and get back to me. He might not even take it."

"Why not?" Cindy wondered. "Putting Jeremy in it was a great idea. Mr. Sussex even told you so." She stared at Jeremy eating a single slice of pizza. "What, they're going to think he's too ugly and dumb? They'd have to be really ignorant people to pass over because of that."

"You're right, Cindy. I just hope they can look past the Shaken Baby Syndrome."

Suddenly, the women heard a cell phone ringtone. All three felt around their waists. Valerie took out her phone, read the number and smiled. "That's me! Girls, I think this is him." She pressed the talk button. "Hello?"

"Ms. Boston, it's Peter Dempsey," said the voice. "Listen, I'm calling about your ad for our new Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs."

"And?" she prompted. "What did everyone think of my nepotism decision?"

"They loved your son in those pictures," Mr. Dempsey said. "They thought he looked so sweet eating the ice cream and the cereal. Nice way to get the two side by side – exactly what we wanted."

"So it's a yes?"

"It's not only a yes, but also an opportunity for young Jeremy to appear in commercials and on boxes for our cereal. As you're aware, Ms. Boston, we'll be needing a spokeschild for the product, and after an unanimous vote, we believe that Jeremy's uniqueness in character would make him perfect for the job."

"Really?" Valerie cried. She put him on hold and relayed the news to Cindy and Elise. They screamed victoriously, and when they noticed everyone staring, Valerie screamed, "Ladies and gentlemen! My son is going to be a spokeschild for the new Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs cereal. Somebody report this to the supermarket!"

Soon after, she calmed down and said, "Mr. Dempsey, I have only one request the commercial. Jeremy should not have to say any given lines, just eat the cereal and smile at the camera. He talks very slowly because of his syndrome."

"I completely understand, Ms. Boston," Mr. Dempsey replied. "We'll see what arrangements can be made, and what we can do with the script. I look forward to our next meeting. Goodbye."

She hung up and told Jeremy the good news. "You're going to be a famous cereal spokeskid. Won't that be fun?"

"Yeah!" Jeremy cried loudly, and finished his pizza.

Shortly before they left, Valerie's phone rang again. "Hello?"

"Is this Valerie Boston?" the voice asked. "This is Gloria Appoloni from Appoloni's Appliances."

"Yes, this is Valerie," Valerie replied.

"We received a call from a Karen Lorimar, she says she's your sister," Ms. Appoloni said. "She told me she decorated your new house, and didn't really have any appliances available on her personal website for you. She told me you need a washer and dryer and a large freezer."

"I do," she said. "My laundry's piling up, as is my son's, and I don't know of any laundromats here in town." She laughed. "Plus, I don't have enough frozen food in my refrigerator freezer. I'll need to buy more soon."

"Well, after looking at the house," Ms Appoloni said, "I was shocked to see there were none of these things in sight. Either the former owners had taken theirs with them – though I don't understand why they couldn't leave their washer and dryer behind – or they never had a washer and dryer, and depended on laundromats and dry cleaners."

"Well, I would've looked, except between raising my son and my advertising projects, I've been a bit busy."

"Don't worry, Ms. Boston. Your sister chose the best models for all these items, and paid for you. They're being installed into your basement free of charge as we speak."

Valerie was delighted. She wanted to dance around happily, but knew she was still in public. "That's great, Ms. Appoloni!"

"They should be finished installation by the time you get home today. I'm so glad to be speaking with you, Ms. Boston, and I hope you enjoy your new appliances. Goodbye."

She hung up and told Cindy and Elise about the call. Cindy replied, "That's so wonderful. Your sister has been so good to you. Damn, but I wish _my_ sister did interior design." They all laughed. When they left the mall, Valerie skipped through the parking with Jeremy all the way to her car.

* * *

Bowzer was sitting at his computer, typing. It wasn't a police report, but a list of schemes in controlling Valerie's heart. Just like Highway, he planned to show up at her house for an impromptu date tonight. Highway had told him about the pink bouquet in her living room, which he took as a sign of her intense yearning. Meantime, he thought that Highway was only good as her dinner date; he refused to tell about last night. _Why else would Valerie display his flowers in the dining room?_ he thought. 

Blitz was barking at his master, his paws on his lap, his nose in his rib cage. Bowzer petted him and said, "Yeah, yeah, Blitz, you can come, too. You know I don't go anywhere without you, right?" Blitz barked four times and Bowzer petted him again. "Don't worry, buddy. Valerie Boston and her boy will be used to you in no time."

Bullseye walked past him, and was not impressed by what he saw. He said, "That's good, Bowzer. You know, if Bulletproof saw this, he'd have you disciplined. Aren't you aware the Big Boss is plotting his next move as we speak? And here, you're delving plans to romance a woman instead of clues?"

"Her name is Valerie, in case you've forgotten," Bowzer reminded him. "And I don't see _you_ doing anything to try and win her heart. What, she's not good enough for you? All the others who've been with her say she's wonderful, and Barricade and Highway say Jeremy is really special. I know I'm looking forward to meeting them. And I know Jeremy will love Blitz."

"Yeah, well, it's just that… well… I don't know if she's the one for me," Bullseye said. "I know I flirted with her along with the rest of you at the picnic, but that was only because I thought she was pretty. I usually think brunettes are more grounded, like me. That's the type I want."

"And what about Jeremy?" Bowzer asked.

"He looks so sweet," Bullseye replied, "but if I want to have a son, or even a stepson, I want to at least show him how to fly a helicopter, like I do. I don't think I can do that with Jeremy. A kid with disabilities like that? I'm afraid he'll frustrate me, making many mistakes, and we'll never get along. That's the bigger thing."

"You need to muster up more patience than that. I've learned Valerie is very protective of Jeremy and his sensitivities."

Before Bullseye could reply, they heard Mainframe announce, "You guys, I've got a reading. Members of Big Boss' gang are active at the Lancer and Sussex Advertising Agency, and it looks like they held everyone there hostage."

Longarm, Blackbelt, Barricade and Mace especially perked up when they heard the location. "What?" Longarm cried. "What in the world could they possibly want there?"

"Cindy and Elise could be in there, scared for their lives," Blackbelt declared, looking more worried than Longarm. "I swear, if they do so much as touch Cindy's hand…"

"I think I know who they're really after," Barricade said. "C'mon, C.O.P.S., it's crime-fighting time." With that, Longarm, Blackbelt, Barricade, Mace, Bowzer and Bullseye all left the headquarters.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cindy, Elise, Valerie and Jeremy had returned from the mall to see a mysterious van in the parking lot. It wasn't the same van Valerie saw the same night she and Mace spotted Buttons McBoomBoom and Turbo Tu-Tone. This one was cherry red with purple and orange flames painted on it. But she immediately became nervous. What if she had another encounter with Big Boss' gang? 

"God, don't tell me those creeps got out of prison already!" she cried. "I'm too scared to go in the building now. I don't think they're going to give up until that Big Boss marries me!" She shuddered violently.

"You may be right," Elise agreed. "For starters, why the hell would a client show up in a van?"

Valerie parked her car in the nearest available spot. But just as they were about to get out, they all heard sirens. Cindy saw the C.O.P.S. rush toward the building. She ran after Blackbelt, calling him.

Valerie got out and called at her, "Cindy, come back! You can't go in there! It's too dangerous!"

When Cindy caught up with Blackbelt, he told her, "Honey, you better get back in Valerie's car. Big Boss and his gang are in there, and you'll be held hostage if you go in."

"Cindy, they want me, you know that," Valerie added. She took her back to her car. "We'll be safe in my car until they're dealt with."

They weren't able to hear the shouts of the C.O.P.S. from inside the building. But just as they got to their doors, they could hear gunfire. Immediately, they jumped back into the car, and Valerie automatically locked all the doors. She screamed to everyone, "Make sure your windows are rolled up!" She checked Jeremy's front passenger window.

"Nobody make a sound," she instructed. "That means you, Jeremy."

She lowered herself in her seat and looked out at the entrance, for any member of Big Boss' gang. Moments later, she saw Berserko, Buttons and Turbo run out of the building. She ducked out of the window's view, screaming, "Everybody get down!" She quickly leaned towards Jeremy to hold him.

"Mom!" he cried. "I'm so… scared."

"Don't worry, baby!" she said. "The C.O.P.S. are going to catch them. You'll see."

They stayed down a few more minutes, when they heard someone open Valerie's door. Elise looked up and saw Bullseye. She said, "Uh, you guys can look up now."

Cindy, Valerie and Jeremy sat up. "Bullseye!" Cindy said. "Oh, thank God! Is it safe to come out now?"

"Yeah," Bullseye answered. "The crooks tried shooting at us, and it soon turned rough. There were plenty of witnesses in there, though thankfully, nobody got hurt."

Valerie was looking out the windshield. She saw Mace put Buttons in his car, then get in himself. The last of the crooks were now being taken away. Only Bullseye's car remained.

He offered his hand, but Valerie wouldn't take it as she got out. "Just let me get my son," she said. He followed her to Jeremy's door, then when she got him, took her hand and escorted her into the building. He stared at her cheeks and hair as they walked; she looked so beautiful. But should he try to pursue her, too? He looked at Jeremy, moving his head from side to side as he walked. He was amazed he could do that, but he could never teach that boy to fly a helicopter. Not with his inability to keep his head still.

Valerie looked at Bullseye's perplexed face. She asked, "What's wrong?"

They stopped at the entrance doors and he sighed. "Oh, Valerie," he said softly, "as much as I think you're beautiful and smart, and that some of my colleagues are trying to win your love, I just don't think there could ever be a future for us."

She looked shocked and horrified. "Why not?"

"Because I could never accept your son for who he is." He took both her hands, and glanced at Jeremy, who was still moving his head around. "Looking at Jeremy, I know he could never be like me, or anyone else on the C.O.P.S. team. As much as I'd love to be a stepparent, I'd have the same expectations of my stepson that I would if I had a kid of my own. It would be my dream to see him follow in my footsteps, and get into law enforcement, like me. I'd even want him to be a helicopter pilot, like me. With the way he moves his head around, and does whatever else different, what special things would I do with him? What would I teach him?"

Valerie still couldn't understand. But Cindy and Elise were overhearing, and Elise could somehow understand what Bullseye was saying. She went up and tried to explain. "I think I know where he's getting at," she said. "He'd be disappointed because Jeremy wouldn't grow up to be a police officer like him."

She and Cindy took her into the building. "It's the same thing with Longarm. Look, you know about my relationship with him and our son, Brian. What you don't know is that law enforcement is a big, important tradition in the O'Malley family. Longarm has expectations of Brian, and luckily, Brian's willing and wanting to abide by them. Just like Longarm's father had expectations of _him_, and so on. I think that if I weren't around, Longarm was a single dad, and he met you and Jeremy, his family wouldn't accept you as soon as they learned about _him_." She pointed at Jeremy.

"Blackbelt expects Mitchell to be a police officer, too," Cindy added. "And he's already talked Jonathan into it. Tyler isn't showing much interest, but the three of them are working on him. He likes Jeremy as Tyler's friend, but he told me that he could never marry you."

"Bullseye's the same way," Elise concluded. "Do you understand now?"

Valerie nodded. "I think I do."

Suddenly, they heard Teresa calling from behind them. "Ah, did Valerie get rejected by one of the C.O.P.S.?" she asked. "I saw the hand-holding and the emotions from outside, don't deny it."

"Mind your own fucking business, bitch!" Elise barked. Valerie rolled her eyes and went to her office.

* * *

At seven-thirty that night, Bowzer arrived at Valerie's house. He let Blitz out, the cyborg canine yelping and leaping excitedly. Bowzer said, "Okay, boy we're here. Settle down now. Sit." Blitz sat. "Don't scare the lady of the house, okay?" Blitz happily barked a promise. 

They walked to Valerie's front door, and Bowzer immediately saw her face in the window before he rang the doorbell. So he knocked instead. Valerie answered in surprise and said, "Bowzer? You didn't call to arrange a date either. You took a page out of Highway's playbook, didn't you?"

She heard barking, and looked down at Blitz. She didn't look very keen as the two walked in. "Uh, I thought I asked you to leave that thing at home." She heard Jeremy greet Bowzer from behind, and immediately became nervous.

He smiled and said, "Aw, Blitz won't hurt anyone. Sure, he may come off as one of those tough and mean dogs, but he's very friendly when we're off-duty." He looked at Blitz sniffing all over Jeremy. "Go on, Jeremy, pet him."

"Are… you… sure?" Jeremy asked. "He… looks like… he's… nothing… more than… steel… and… computer… chips."

"Trust me, kid," Bowzer grinned. "Just rub his back, and he'll lick you. He loves that."

Jeremy rubbed the dog's back and he leapt up, put his paws in his hand, and panted happily. Valerie became even more scared. Blitz, when standing on his hind legs, was almost as tall as Jeremy.

"Don't be scared, Valerie," Bowzer assured her. "See, Blitz likes Jeremy. Now, how about you calm down and we'll talk about what you want to do? Or better yet, tell me about yourself."

Valerie was forcing herself to stay calm. "Would you like some coffee?" she asked. "I can get tea for myself."

"I'd love some." He noticed the flowers he gave her on the coffee table. "And by the way, I also love how you decorated that."

In the dining room, Bowzer was telling about how he'd been with the K-9 unit for five years in the Providence Police Department in Rhode Island, prior to joining C.O.P.S. "When I joined, the first thing they gave me was Blitz. He has a voice-recognizing command device. All the cyborg dogs have them. I give him orders, and he follows them right away."

He demonstrated by calling Blitz from the living room. "Blitz, come here," he said. The dog left Jeremy to approach his master.

Bowzer was giving Blitz all sorts of commands for Valerie, sit, lie down, roll over, shake a paw. Blitz obeyed them all. Valerie looked somewhat impressed, but she still didn't look very trusting of him around Jeremy.

"It's… okay," Jeremy said. "Tyler… said… Blitz is… friendly… once… I get… used… to… him."

Valerie was telling about her career accomplishments, her perfect track record in Empire City. She was amazed that Bowzer kept an interest. She smiled. _I don't know why they tell us not to talk about our work lives on the first date_, she thought. _This shouldn't apply to advertising, it's not boring. If Barricade and Bowzer can stay interested, any other man could._

She looked at Jeremy, who was prancing around the living room with Blitz hopping behind. "After Peter Dempsey took my ad," she said, "he and his company decided they liked Jeremy so much, they're making him spokeschild for their cereal. They'll probably talk to my bosses about making me head producer of their commercials. They're looking to start late next month. I'm so excited."

"That's great," Bowzer replied. "You should be so proud of yourself, and him." He sipped some coffee. "Now, I hope you won't get upset, but I'd like to hear more about your husband." Valerie immediately looked uncomfortable. "Look, I know he's not your favorite thing to talk about – and I stress, _thing_ – but if he's as bad as I've been hearing, I really would like to know so I can kick his goddamn ass!"

"Oh, he was bad, all right," Valerie said. "Just as you guys were leaving, Bullseye threw me over just because Jeremy would never be one of the C.O.P.S. – ever. I know that sounds mean for him to say, but it's true. Did Barricade ever tell you how Jeremy was moving his head around and speaking rather slowly when he was with us on our first date?"

Bowzer nodded. "He was talking slowly when he was asking about Blitz."

"Blame Tom for that. Shaken Baby Syndrome, no thanks to what he did to Jeremy as a tiny tot."

Bowzer was disgusted. "Dare I ask how often he did that?"

"You don't want to know. I'm still so damn grateful he's even with us." She put another packet of sugar in her tea. "You know, medical science says he should've died eight years ago, maybe nine. And now he's on his way to his eleventh birthday."

"What exactly can't he do?"

"He's severely brain-damaged, so there are a lot of school subjects he can't do. Math, Science, even some Social Studies. He's good in geography; he can find most places on a globe, and tell you some of the world capitals, but he can't do history. Oh, but he loves to read and write, and draw and paint. The doctor said that English would be the only 'career subject' he'd ever be good at. And his teachers made him drop French shortly before we left Parrish. And he's not physically inclined, either. Thank God I found a special school that'll take him in the fall. He'd never survive regular school. Just look at his report cards."

"I'm guessing he didn't do much to help."

"Not unless you call beating the shit out of him every time brought home lower grades than expected, and continually doing stupid things because he'll never know any better, help." Valerie paused to keep from crying, but she could see Bowzer was getting more incensed. "His brain damage has permanently affected his ability to learn right from wrong, for fuck's sake! But Tom would never understand that. All he'd do was call me a lazy, worthless parent, and say I'm not pushing him hard enough.…"

Bowzer put his hand on top of hers. "Don't talk anymore," he said softly. "I'm already convinced. Your husband's the one who needs the shit beaten out of him for what he's caused. If he never did what he did, maybe Jeremy would be normal and healthy, and he _could_ be one of the C.O.P.S. in the future."

Valerie looked into the living room. Neither Jeremy nor Blitz was there. She wondered how long they were gone. "Thank God they probably weren't here to hear this," she said. "He doesn't need to. And thank God you're so understanding over this."

They stood up and walked towards each other. "I'd definitely need someone like you in my life. Oh, but I can't believe you're so caring, and you listen so well."

Bowzer grinned wryly. "Well, I didn't leave Blitz at home like you wanted."

"That doesn't matter anymore," Valerie whispered. "Maybe I can get used to that robot dog. I think a pet would be good for Jeremy."

But just as they were about to kiss, they heard a loud scream coming from the basement. It sounded like Jeremy. Valerie was frightened. She and Bowzer rushed downstairs to see Blitz pounding on Jeremy's chest. He was gnawing on the boy's arm, and his shirt was shredded. While she screamed, Bowzer immediately barked, "Blitz, heel!" But the dog jumped to Jeremy's leg and began biting at it.

Bowzer screamed louder, "Blitz! Heel now! SIT!" Blitz stopped, sat and whimpered, but it was too late.

He had ripped away part of Jeremy's right arm, causing it to bleed heavily, and make fresh bite marks in his right leg. Jeremy was crying and screaming from the pain, clutching his chest with his good arm. Valerie immediately picked him up and carried him to the kitchen. She tearfully called for an ambulance, then called Karen, screaming, "Get over here right now! Jeremy's bleeding so bad! I need you!"

When she hung up, Bowzer tried to look sympathetic, "Oh, Valerie, I'm so sorry," he begged. "I didn't mean for this to happen."

She slapped his face and screamed, "You bastard! You fucking bastard! Why didn't you listen to me about that fucking dog! I told you to leave him at your home, didn't I!" She showed him Jeremy's bloody arm. "_Look at what you caused!_"

With Jeremy in one arm, Valerie went to the living room to give back Bowzer's bouquet. "I don't want this anymore!" she declared. "I thought maybe you cared about me and Jeremy, but that's obviously the biggest fucking lie I ever heard! Take this and get the fuck out! I never want to see your goddamn face again!"

Just then, she heard Karen call at the front door, "Valerie? Valerie, where are you?" Valerie rushed to greet her sister, then gave Jeremy to her. She was horrified by his bleeding arm and sore chest.

"My date brought his fucking K-9 partner with him!" she lamented. She turned to Bowzer, who was still standing in the living room. "Get the fuck out, asshole! Get out before I call Bulletproof and have him arrest you himself!" She proceeded to grab his arm and throw him out of the house, and Blitz onto the front lawn. She slammed the front door.

Devastated, Bowzer started pounding on the door, screaming for Valerie. "_Valerie!_ Valerie, I love you! Please give me another chance! Don't let it end like this! Please, I love you! Please, Valerie!"

He kept screaming and pounding as the ambulance showed up, until Karen answered the door, let the EMT's in, and said harshly, "For fuck's sake, go away, and take your dog and your damn flowers with you. She's very protective of Jeremy, and you let your little cyber dog hurt him. Please leave now. My sister doesn't love you anymore." Moments later, Jeremy was carried out on a stretcher, his mother and aunt following him, going to the hospital.

Bowzer was upset as he sat on the porch. He looked at Blitz, but couldn't really be mad at him. After all, he believed, Jeremy must have went to the basement with Blitz alone and unsupervised. He swore to himself that Blitz was only playing with Jeremy then, just like they did in the living room.

He lowered his head, covered his eyes with his arms, and sobbed. Blitz walked up and licked his face to apologize.

* * *

A/N: To skyefire, if I don't post here before then, have a happy (early) birthday. And who do you really think is at fault for the incident at the end? Bowzer shouldn't have brought Blitz along, but then again, both he and Valerie should have been watching them. Maybe then it wouldn't have happened, you think? 


	11. Another Competition, Another Chance

Chapter 11

Jeremy had been having surgeries on his arm and chest all that night and into Saturday morning. Valerie and Karen had refused to leave the hospital the whole time. Rhonda came with their mother as soon as Karen called them.

Valerie was still sobbing a little when Polly and Rhonda arrived. Polly hugged her youngest daughter rather tightly, hoping to make her stop crying altogether. She was calm, then Polly said, "All right, Valerie, now I want you to tell us what happened. Karen said something about Jeremy being bitten by a dog. Whatever it is, I hope animal control puts that damn thing down!"

"It's not that, Mom," Valerie replied. "Bowzer, from C.O.P.S., he came by my place for an impromptu date this evening."

"Bowzer, the one with the robot police dog?" Rhonda asked.

"Yeah, he brought his little canine pal along with him," Valerie answered, "even though I asked him not to."

Rhonda looked at her sister as if she'd said something crazy. "Well, gee, Valerie, what did you expect him to do? Accuse me of knowing too much, but I've seen them all around, and I _know_ that Bowzer doesn't go anywhere without Blitz. Those two are closely bonded."

"Well, I was nervous about Blitz being around Jeremy," Valerie said, "but Bowzer tried to convince me that he was very friendly off-duty. You should've seen them when they were playing in the living room; they seemed to enjoy each other. Blitz was even obedient when Bowzer showed me his voice control device. Then, Bowzer and I got to talking, and when I started telling about Tom, he took Blitz down to the basement all by himself–"

Polly became infuriated then. "What?" she barked. "What do you mean, he took Blitz to the basement by himself?"

"He told me in the ambulance on the way here, Mom," Valerie blurted, almost ready to cry. "He said when Bowzer was asking about Tom, he decided that he didn't want to stay around and listen anymore. He said he was leaping around the recreation room, and Blitz was getting all excited and jumpy. Thank God he didn't have anything to tease him with."

Polly got more disgusted. "Valerie Julianne Slamier!" she blasted. "You mean to tell me that you let Jeremy go off alone and unsupervised with a canine he's not familiar with, while you and your friend stayed upstairs, immersed in your conversation! Young lady, I thought you had more responsibility with him than this!"

"Mother!" Karen cried. "Can't you see Valerie is upset enough? She doesn't need you harping on her like that! I'll have you know that she immediately broke it off with Bowzer because of this! She never wants to see him ever again, and I don't blame her. He should've left that thing behind when he came to see her!"

"I agree with that," Polly said. "Maybe Jeremy shouldn't have had any exposure to the dog to begin with. But Rhonda is right about police officers like Bowzer taking their dogs everywhere with them, expect places where dogs aren't allowed." She scowled at Valerie again. "You should've expected that, and kept watch on your son that whole time. You shouldn't have been so indulged in your intimacy that you didn't know Jeremy went off by himself. And you should've looked for him when you did. So this is also your fault, Valerie."

Valerie sighed, consuming her mother's lecture. Maybe she should try to make up with Bowzer when they've both calmed down. She only prayed that Tom wouldn't know about this. She knew he'd try to get custody over this, something she couldn't let happen.

* * *

At the headquarters, Bowzer was getting just as little support from his team. Bulletproof, Barricade and Highway were especially unhappy about what had happened with Blitz and Jeremy. 

"How the hell could you have let that happen!" Bulletproof exploded. "You know how a dog like Blitz can be with a child like young Jeremy!"

"I swear, Jeremy went off by himself with Blitz when we got to talking about Valerie's ex," Bowzer said defensively. "I presumed they'd just been playing together. We'd been talking about Tom for about five minutes when we realized they were gone. And then, Valerie got this look that said she wanted to try something with me."

"No way!" Barricade objected. "She wouldn't have noticed her son was missing, then turned back to you looking all romantic. It really isn't like her to be _that_ irresponsible."

Bowzer replied, "We heard Jeremy scream from the basement just as she was about to kiss me."

Barricade and Highway looked at each other with heavy disbelief about Valerie. If she had regretted her part of the incident, they just might forgive her. Bowzer looked at his K-9 partner, equally regretting not watching over him that night. He knew it'd be a long time before Valerie wanted to see him – or Blitz – ever again.

* * *

By late Saturday morning, Valerie learned that Jeremy would be all right, though his condition was still critical. The specialist told her, "He'll have to stay in the hospital for a least a week while we run some tests on him. We can maybe provide a cast for his arm, and some medicine for the bites on his leg, but we're going to need transplants for both his breastbones and rib cage." 

"What about his heart and lungs?" Valerie asked.

"Both are still in good working condition, and have not been damaged in the dog attack," the specialist assured her. The family was crying happily and hugged each other. Valerie thought about Bowzer then. Maybe she should forgive him, so long as he leaves Blitz at home for a while.

* * *

That evening, Valerie was watching TV alone. Nothing but police shows, old action movies, and variety comedy shows, but she didn't mind. She wasn't in the mood to go out anyway. If Mace, Sundown, Barricade or Highway called, she'd tell them, and ask them to come over. She felt alone without Jeremy. Maybe some company would be a good idea, but she thought, _Nah, I'll let _them_ call._

During the commercial break, she got up to fetch more diet cola and snacks. While she rummaged through the pantry, the phone rang. She checked the caller ID. It read _C. Howards_.

"Mace, excellent!" she whispered. She picked up and saw Mace on the small screen. "Mace, hi! I'm so glad you could call."

"Hey, Valerie!" Mace replied. "I had to call, after learnin' with Blitz did to Jeremy. Bulletproof was really grillin' Bowzer good. All I thought about then was you. So, how's the kid doin'?"

"He's doing just fine," Valerie answered. "The crisis is over, but they still need to do more on him, including put a cast on his arm. They need to keep him for a week, at least." She decided not to tell him that she might give Bowzer a second chance. She thought that would only fuel Mace's competitiveness.

"That's great. So what else is new?"

Valerie told him about the account with Dempsey Breakfast Foods, and how Jeremy was going to promote their new cereal. "They're going to have his picture on boxes in supermarkets all across the country, and he's going to be in commercials which I'll be producing. I'm so excited for him. Maybe this'll boost his confidence to the sky."

"That's so wonderful, baby. Maybe this'll help Jeremy realize how special he really is." He paused. "I'm already lookin' forward to spendin' time with him. I want him to know that I do love him like I love you, and that he's worthy of a real man's love."

Valerie touched her throat in delight. "Mace, that was so sweet of you to say that. Oh, but I wish you could be here right now, so I could kiss you."

"I think I can take care of that." Mace puckered to the screen on his phone. She laughed and replied, "Well, I've never really given anyone a kiss over the phone, but here goes." She puckered up and put her lips to her screen. They kissed their telephones.

He had a big grin. "Well, how'd it feel?" he asked.

"Really weird, actually," Valerie answered. "I think maybe I'll stick to kissing in person from now on. Speaking of which, how would you like to come over and see me? I'm feeling a little lonely, and I don't really feel like going out tonight. I know it might take my mind off Jeremy, but still–"

"I understand completely," Mace replied. "I still have your address. I'll try to be over in twenty minutes. See ya." She smiled and they hung up.

Valerie rushed to turn off the TV, change into a sexier outfit, fix her hair and makeup. She was teasing her hair in her bedroom mirror when the phone rang again. "Hello?"

"Valerie?" the voice asked. "Valerie, it's Sundown. What's happenin' with ya, sweetness?"

She told him what she told Mace about Jeremy. "I take it you also witnessed Bulletproof giving Bowzer hell over what happened here last night."

"Sure did," Sundown answered. "And I was gonna feel sorry for ya, 'cept Bowzer revealed that you weren't watchin' him, either."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "Now, don't you start with that!" she spat. "I already put up with that shit lecture from my mother. At least Mace was gracious enough not to bring it up."

"Valerie, I don't like ladies cursin' like that. You said that notorious S-word."

"Oh, God, you Southern gentlemen have such high expectations of ladies, don't you?" she complained. "Sundown, I'm beginning to think you may be a little out of place here in Empire City. Tell me more about being recruited here from the Lone Star State." She checked her watch. "On second thought, save that. Mace is coming over in less than ten minutes and–"

"That's nice. I've got your address right here. I'm comin' over, if that's all right wit ya." He hung up before she could respond.

"Shit, I can't believe I told him that!" she cried, slamming the phone down. "Fuck, now there's going to be a battle royale." She brushed her hair quickly, then covered her face in powder, and put on her lipstick quickly, yet carefully.

The doorbell rang just as Valerie went back to the living room. She answered the door to see Mace in a brown leather jacket and black jeans. She swore she could feel her heart slamming at her chest as he took off his glasses and gave a big, sexy grin.

"God, but you look gorgeous tonight," she sighed as he walked in. "But then again, you're always gorgeous with that face. Take off your jacket. If you're shirtless underneath, I'm going to fucking lose it!"

He slowly unzipped his jacket, as if he was exotic dancing. He took it off to reveal a white muscle top with spaghetti-thin shoulder straps, and a neckline low enough to show off his chest. She was stammering without saying anything, until she said, "Did you overwork yourself at the gym, or what?"

"You wish I did," he replied. "I spent all my off-duty time at headquarters today, dumbbellin' and bench-pressin' just for you, sweetheart!"

Unable to control themselves, Mace and Valerie started making out when they went out to the living room. She excused herself to close the living room curtains, then went back to him. They continued making out, their hands all over each other. During the session, he noticed his bouquet for her on the end table to the left of the sofa. He excused himself and moved it to the coffee table.

"What kind of music do you like?" she asked. "I'll bet you're the type who likes that old rock 'n roll. Why don't we go downstairs? I've got this new jukebox that has all kinds of music from forty years ago onward." They got up, and the doorbell rang again. _Shit, that's Sundown_, she thought. She excused herself to answer the door. _If I see him shirtless, it's going to get heated in here._

She opened to see Sundown in denim jeans, a white T-shirt with a black leather vest, and black cowboy boots and white cowboy hat. She immediately said, "What are you supposed to be, an old Western biker?"

"Hilarious, Valerie," Sundown replied. "I thought I was lookin' sexy for ya."

"You _do_ look sexy," she assured him. "You certainly dressed up for the night, that's for sure. That's actually a good look for you."

"Thanks, babe." They kissed.

He followed her into the living room. He saw Mace sitting on the sofa in his muscle shirt, and tried hard not to laugh. Instead, he said, "Uh, Mace, ain't that nightclub downtown, the Rainbow Station, havin' a blue collar hunk contest tonight? What, didja leave in the middle o' yer dance routine?"

Mace jumped from the sofa. He looked as if he wanted to attack Sundown. "Why you…" he began, but Valerie quickly stopped him.

Sundown looked at his bouquet for Valerie, on the end table to the right of the sofa. He looked at Mace's bouquet on the coffee table. Sundown glared lightly at Valerie and said, "Why, Valerie, I can't believe you appreciate Mace more than you do me. Well, I'll fix that!" He proceeded to take both bouquets and vases, and switch their places.

Mace began to feel threatened. "Hey!" he boomed. "Just what is the big idea, Sundown! You tryin' to upstage me in front of her!"

"I was merely tryin' to show Valerie what would make this room look perfect," Sundown answered. "My yellow roses bring about a sunny disposition to the room."

"Bullshit! My purple roses coordinate to make this nice room look nicer!"

"I'll bet they do! Those yellow roses of Texas belong on that there coffee table, so you keep yer mitts off, Bubba Beefcake!"

"You call me that one more time–"

Valerie could tell where this was going to lead to, so she stepped in between them. "Boys!" she said. "I do not want two grown men – who happen to work together – to be fighting in my living room. I was under the assumption that you guys came over to cheer me up. C'mon, let's go downstairs and play around with my new jukebox. We'll dance to some old time rock and country. And we've got a mini-bar there, too. Rhonda said the old owners filled it up with alcohol and ingredients before they left." Mace and Sundown agreed, and Valerie led them downstairs.

* * *

She went back to the hospital the next day, to visit Jeremy. She saw Elise and Brian there, as well as Cindy and Tyler. Both mothers held her as Valerie said, "Girls, I'm so glad to see you here." 

"Hey, no way were we going to let our sons go without spending time with their new best friend," Cindy said. The women watched them play a game of crazy eights.

A few minutes later, Jeremy had only one card left. He called out loudly, "LAST… CARD!" Valerie had to shush him and say, "Jeremy, remember you're in a hospital. People may be sleeping after operations and such. You'll have to be very quiet, okay?" Jeremy nodded silently, and the boys continued their game.

She sat with Cindy and Elise, and Elise said, "So, what's the situation with Bowzer? Longarm told me everything at dinner last night. Is it really over between you two?"

"I was thinking about it," Valerie replied, "but then my mother started grilling me about how I should've been watching Jeremy, and how it shouldn't be all _his_ fault, and everything else. Perhaps I can give him another try. She is right, after all, Bowzer and I should've paid closer attention to them while we talked. Hell, we should've gone straight to the basement."

Hey, for all you knew, they could've gone outside," Cindy suggested.

"No way, Cindy!" she insisted. "Jeremy would never go out anywhere in the evenings without an adult. Especially not in this city. He can't handle himself."

When they were all gone, and Valerie was truly alone, she walked up beside Jeremy. "Sweetie?" she said.

"Mom?" he replied.

"Sweetie, you know how I got mad at Bowzer last night?" Valerie asked. "Remember when I threw him out when Auntie Karen came over? Well, I was wrong to do that."

"Blitz was… his dog," Jeremy said. "You… were… nervous… to… have him… around… me. Oh,… but… he was… so… friendly. Maybe I… shouldn't… have… got him… worked… up by… jumping… around."

"No, sweetie, it was Bowzer's fault and mine," Valerie replied. "He and I should've gone downstairs to keep an eye on you and Blitz."

She looked just a little more firm. "It would've helped, however, if you'd _told_ us you were taking Blitz to play in the recreation room."

"Please… don't… let… Dad… find out… about… this," Jeremy pleaded, his eyes looking like a puppy dog's. "He'll… take… me… away… from… you. I don't… want… him… to be my… Dad… anymore. I want… whichever… one of… the… C.O.P.S.… you… want."

She kissed the top of his forehead. "Your bastard father won't know about this," she promised. "He has that restraining order, remember? Even if he does find out, there's no way he'll be able to take you. This was just a little thing compared to all the stuff _he_ did to you. You remember that."

She then took _A Wrinkle in Time_ from her purse and showed him. Right away, he told her when he left off. She sat down beside his bed and began reading to him.

* * *

That evening, after dinner, Valerie was putting away the dishes when the doorbell rang. She expected it to be Karen, whom she invited over for coffee, while Bart and their sons spent a planned night out for Father's Day. 

Instead, she saw Dr. Badvibes, dressed in a vintage 1970's tuxedo, clutching a single red rose. In front of the house, she saw the Big Boss' limousine driving off. Unimpressed at his look, she folded her arms and said, "Okay, and who are _you_ supposed to be? The biggest fashion victim of Big Boss' crew?"

"You flatter me, Valerie Boston," Dr. Badvibes replied. "Why, I don't think we've been properly introduced." He told her his name, then kissed the back of her hand. She immediately snatched it away, but managed to accept the rose.

They proceeded into the living room, where Dr. Badvibes looked at the end tables and dining table. "Lovely floral arrangements, Valerie. May I ask where you got them from?"

"Let's just call them your competition," she answered. "Now I have a question for you: how the hell did you find this place?

"I managed to get your sister's address – your old one – from Nightshade," he replied. "From there, I persuaded Squeaky to drive me there, desiring only to get your new address from her. To do that, I told her that I loved you, that I thought of only you, your beautiful hair and eyes, the smart, ambitious way you carry yourself, and that I was a lot more deserving of your hand than any of the C.O.P.S. who are yearning for you. After all, both you and I know that _they_ only want you for the sex. I long for so much more."

"I'm sure you are, Badvibes."

"You underestimate my seriousness, Valerie." He took her over to the loveseat. "Maybe some of the other crooks are also in it for the bedroom action, but only Big Boss and I profess our true love to you. Besides, I know you high-profiled career women. You tend to go for intelligent men of noble professions. I am a man of science, one of the noblest professions of all. And since I was so nice to your sister, she was nice enough to tell me that you aren't the materialistic type. That's wonderful. Sure, those C.O.P.S. you've been lusting after have brains, but they also rely on brawn to get their jobs done. I know that women of your description don't go for men like that." He ran his fingertips across her cheek. "Neither the Big Boss nor I are like that. I promise that if you choose either of us, we will make you as happy as a woman should be."

Yet, Valerie felt as if Dr. Badvibes was acting creepy. She quickly got up from the loveseat. "Look, Badvibes," she said, "I'm sure you have good intentions, but do you have any idea how weird I'd feel if you tried to kiss me in public? I'm just as law-abiding as the next person; what would everyone else think? How would this look to my son? And the Big Boss is fat, ugly and creepy, while you're scrawny and have bad fashion taste. Did you build a time machine and steal that from a tuxedo shop in the 1970's, by any chance? I may not be materialistic, but even I know that brawny good guys beat overweight and nerdy bad guys any day in the game of love. _You_ will only drive me into the ground, especially if Big Boss likes it on top." She tossed the rose into his lap.

Disgusted, Dr. Badvibes started for the front door. "You know, Valerie," he said, "you can't keep rejecting us forever. If one of us has to rip off our clothes and take you in order for you to get the hint, believe me, we will. But we will have you in our possession. This is one game the C.O.P.S. will not win." With that, he slammed the front door and walked away.

Valerie went into the kitchen to boil some water for tea. She thought about Bowzer then. She'd kept all the love notes that came with the bouquets, including his. She went to her bedroom, and opened her bottom dresser drawer. She'd kept them beneath her underwear and socks; she was looking for the pink paper.

She found it and took it to the kitchen. She dialed Bowzer's phone number, and the answering machine picked it up. At the tone, she said, "Bowzer? Bowzer, it's Valerie. Listen, I've been thinking long and hard about what happened the other night. I've decided that Blitz's attack on Jeremy was just as much my fault as it was yours. We both should've asked each other they were, looked for them and watched them. My mother let me know this as she gave me shit that night. For that, I want to say I'm sorry I yelled at you, and I'm willing to give our love another shot. Please call me as soon as you get this, we need to talk. Goodbye." She hung up.

Just then, the doorbell rang again. Valerie sighed harshly. "I'll bet Badvibes has come crawling back," she muttered to herself. "Or maybe the Big Boss wants to grill me for another rejection." She was hoping it was Karen.

She was delighted to see Karen at the door. "Thank God it's you, sis! You won't believe who just came by." Valerie prepared tea for the two of them, and she told about Dr. Badvibes' visit.

Karen shuddered. "I'm as brilliant and computer savvy as he is," she said, "but I wouldn't be caught dead with him, even if Bart weren't around." She started to laugh. "Isn't that ironic! They say bright, successful women like us are supposed to attract men like Badvibes."

Valerie laughed louder. "Whoever came up with that must be seriously disturbed."

She didn't want to talk about Dr. Badvibes anymore, so she said, "Um, so I thought about what Mom said – you know, about how my disaster date with Bowzer was my fault, too. I was thinking about him just before you came, and I decided to give him another chance."

Karen nodded skeptically. "I don't know," she said. "If I were a single mom years ago, dating an cop from the K-9 unit, and if my boyfriend's dog did to either of my boys what Blitz did to Jeremy, I'd break it off with him and never take him back."

"You would if you admitted you hadn't watched Drew or Shel either," Valerie argued.

Karen thought about that for a few moments. "Well, I'd admit fault on my part. But I still wouldn't take him back. I'd have trust issues about him with my boys." She drank her tea. "Besides, you shouldn't be so hung on Bowzer. You also have Mace, Sundown, Barricade and Highway."

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten them. In fact, Mace and Sundown came over, and they managed to cheer me up. But still, it wouldn't hurt for Bowzer and me to say sorry and make up. That's what mature quarrelling lovers do."

They decided to watch a movie, a horror film called _The Alice Show Murders_. They saw a liberal, rebellious mother of a wild teenager boasting that her daughter helps run the house, helping the girl beat her younger siblings and such, on a talk show about wild teens going to boot camp. She is heavily criticized for it, fights with several strict mothers on the panel, and refuses to send her daughter to boot camp. During that time, she kills the boyfriend of one the mothers, and they all kill her in turn. After they're all acquitted for murder, the main mother comes back on the show as a ghost from Hell, killing all the strict and angry parents and guardians who bring their wild teens on the show for boot camp, not stopping until she satisfies her hunger for revenge. Along the way, she kills the mothers who were on that fateful show taping; one is thrown off the railing while shopping with her daughter at the mall, another is stabbed in the shower, _Psycho_-style.

Karen was getting more and more horrified watching all the vengeful murders. She looked over to notice Valerie was enjoying it. After the shower scene, Karen finally screamed, "That's it! Shut it off, Valerie! I can't bear to watch one more caring Mom get killed!"

Valerie stopped the DVD, and Karen immediately took it from the player. "I am taking this back first thing tomorrow morning," she told her. "God, Valerie, I don't know why you talked me into getting this!"

She stayed until it was just after eleven, then said, "Well, I guess it's time for me to go. You have another busy week, I imagine. Thanks for the tea. And I'll see if I can get you something better than this _Alice Show Murders_ crap. I don't think you want to have this around when the C.O.P.S. come over here. I think they'd dump you in an instant." She remembered that Valerie's birthday was coming up. "And I'll surprise you, okay?"

When she was gone, Valerie turned on the TV. She stayed up until midnight, waiting for Bowzer to call back. She never heard the phone ring, so she got herself ready for bed. She said to herself, "I'll bet all the C.O.P.S. are serving the night shift together."

* * *

Bowzer never called back until that following Wednesday. Valerie never knew what to think about it. She wanted to believe that he was giving himself time to think about what happened to Jeremy. But if several days pass after the breakup, and he hadn't called back yet, then it could mean that it was over forever. That's what Teresa had told her that day in the ladies' room, at least. 

She had given this advice in a first attempt to be her friend. "Look," she said, "you may not have watched your kid when the dog was pounding on him. But if your date, the dog's owner, goes for days without approaching or contacting you with an apology, it means he believes it's all _your_ fault, and it just goes to show what an asshole he is. He won't take responsibility for his actions."

Valerie didn't want to believe her, and didn't know if she should. Moreover, where did she hear about this in the first place? Cindy and Elise were the only ones at work who knew about this, and she'd never seen them tell her anything. Perhaps they told some people in strict confidence, and they told Teresa.

Valerie smirked at her. "Listen, Teresa," she said, "you may be the expert on romance, and chief advisor on other people's love lives, but that doesn't change the fact that you still gossip. I say he's still feeling horrible about this, and he's giving himself time to recover. It's been five days, I think that's long enough." She turned to leave. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work."

But Bowzer hadn't called all day. She thought, _Okay, he's probably recovered, but he got too busy to call. I'll bet he and the others are dealing with that stupid lovesick gang of Big Boss'._ That evening, she was working on her computer while listening for him. She wasn't the type to sit by the telephone. The only calls she got were from Polly, and a member of her project team, calling with more information.

Two hours later, he still hadn't called, and she was thinking about going to bed. She was beginning to think that maybe Teresa was right, maybe Bowzer was blaming her for Blitz's behavior towards Jeremy. She tried very hard not to cry. She had shut down her project for the evening when the phone rang.

_Oh my God, could this be him?_ she thought as she walked to the kitchen. She checked the caller ID when she got there. _R. Pointer._ If she remembered his note, Bowzer had signed as Rex Pointer. She picked up quickly. "Hello?" She was surprised and happy to see his face on the screen.

"Hey, Valerie," Bowzer said. "How have you been?"

"I've been doing okay," she answered. "Jeremy's condition has been improving over the week. They put a cast on his arm, but he still needs bone transplants for his chest and ribs. They found a donor already, now they just have to surgically put them in his body. They expect to have him released by the end of this weekend."

"That's wonderful," he replied. He cleared his throat. "Listen, about Friday night, I really want to tell you how sorry I am for what happened."

"No, it's my fault," Valerie said. "I should've expected you to bring Blitz over here. Rhonda said that K-9 officers like you go everywhere with your dogs."

"No, I should've listened to you, and left Blitz at home," Bowzer insisted. "Yeah, he and Jeremy were friendly with each other, but this wouldn't have happened if he weren't there that night."

"Really?" she asked. "Do you want to know what my mother did as soon as I told her what happened?" Remembering Polly's nagging, Valerie repeated every word of what she said.

"So, she grilled you, huh?" he said.

"Yes, and I realized that I should've gone down to the basement and watched Jeremy play with Blitz."

"No, _we_ should've been watching. Blitz is _my_ dog, after all."

There was a pause, then Bowzer said, "Listen, Valerie, I really do love you. I just can't bear to lose you over one preventable incident. I really want nothing more than your forgiveness. I mean that."

She was instantly taken by his plea, and replied, "I've already decided to forgive you. Listen, I know you're prone to taking Blitz everywhere, but you might want to leave him at home when you come here for the next little while. Perhaps we can see him when Jeremy and I come to see you."

Bowzer smiled. "It's a done deal."

"And if you come over here without the dog," she continued, "maybe we can make up in a romantically snuggly fashion. I hope you still have my address."

"You bet I do. I'll see you in fifteen minutes, tops. Don't fall asleep on me. Bye."

She giggled as she hung up, and went to her bedroom to change into something sexy. She opened her sleepwear drawer, and took out a sky blue negligee that went down to her knees. She stripped off all her clothes, including her bra and panties, and put it on. She was glad it wasn't see-through. She wanted to give Bowzer a sexy surprise without looking like a prostitute.

She saw him park in her driveway, and opened her front door before Bowzer approached it. From outside, he was immediately taken by her outfit, and let himself in without ringing the bell. Wordlessly, he started kissing her lips, neck and chest. Aroused, she touched his chin with her index finger, and he looked up at her. She brought his face towards her and kissed him back.

They tiptoed through the main hallway to her bedroom, as she started taking off his clothes. By the time they got there, he was wearing only a pair of briefs. Grinning, Bowzer led Valerie into the dark room, and she locked the door.

* * *

A/N: I'm going to be in Winnipeg tomorrow to get my eyes tested, and I will be out of town all weekend, so I probably get much of an opportunity to work on this the whole time. I'll be with my sister and brother-in-law, mostly; I just passed up a chance to go on a boring boat cruise along the Red River, (watching houses go by for four hours – yawn!) my father has a weekend full of meetings, and my brother-in-law's mother's birthday is this weekend, and he and my sister plan to spend Father's day with HIS parents. Yes, my dad told me all this. 

Furthermore, next week, I plan to start on something original for my next Night Writers meeting, so I may take longer to update the next chapter. But I can promise you this, the romances between Valerie and the C.O.P.S. will get a HELL of a lot hotter (pun definitely not intended.) However, as stated at the beginning, it won't be pornographic; I'm not getting into trouble over this. So until then, be prepared.


	12. Overnight Passions

**Author's Note:** Well, here I am with another update. Thanks for waiting so patiently. In other news, I've gotten a head start on my Night Writer's project. Don't know if I'll be able to finish in time for the meeting (July 13th) but rest assured I'll be working on it. On a lower note, I'd planned to get this up and posted several days ago, in honor of my 26th birthday, but I'd been down there at close to one that afternoon, draining basement floodwater that was coming up in the hole in my bedroom closet (where they drilled in attempt to build a sump-pump, before moving it to the room where my father keeps his card collection. Just when I thought I was winning it that night, it fucking rained about 50-80 mm (in that range) overnight, and it came in WAYYYY too fast! By 8:00-9:00 the next morning, it was totally out of control, and with my father away then, I'd nearly lost my fucking sanity. So my birthday was officially ruined. And by the time it started to run its course Thursday evening, I was dead to the world. I mean, I needed to SLEEP! My legs and back were stiff and sore and I couldn't fucking move! It's slowed down a lot now, thank God, but the occasional sprinkle seems to get in the way. Makes me wish for more damn heat, like I had today. So I'm posting this now.

Anyway, enjoy the reading, and don't forget to review.

* * *

Chapter 12

The day Jeremy was released from the hospital, Rhonda went with Valerie to pick him up. On the way there, Rhonda said, "In all the chaos last weekend, I forgot to tell you that Sarah is back from college." Sarah is Rhonda and Richard's eldest daughter, aged nineteen. "She'd been home for four hours when we learned of the dog attack."

"Won't she be surprised to find a cast on Jeremy's arm?" Valerie remarked.

When they arrived, they saw Jeremy dressed in the green shirt, blue jeans and runners that Valerie had sent to them. He wore a cast on his upper arm, which had already been signed by Brian and Tyler. Upon being reunited, the specialist told Valerie, "He has to be in that cast for two weeks. It's not heavy, but, given his skinny arms, I think he'll have considerable trouble lifting that arm. He'll have to depend on his right hand until it comes off."

Valerie nodded. "I suppose I'll have to dress him for the next two weeks," she said.

Almost twenty minutes later, they arrived at Rhonda's house. On the way there, Rhonda said, "I had planned a special dinner to commemorate Sarah coming home, in which you and Jeremy were supposed to come, for last week. But given what happened, I decided to postpone it until today. Nicole is cooking it right now as we speak."

Rhonda opened the door for her sister and nephew. Moments later, they heard an older girl's voice from the living room. "Mom, is that Valerie and Jeremy?"

"Sarah?" Valerie called. "Yeah, Sarah, it's us!"

She saw the college-aged young lady step into the front hall, wearing a purple tank top and pink track pants. Sarah looked to be as tall as her mother. "Aunt Valerie!" she cried, hugging her. "I am so glad you finally left that ass you called your husband! Thank God! Now, what's this I hear about you dating three members of C.O.P.S. at the same time?"

"I know it sounds sluttish, Sarah," Valerie said, rolling her eyes, "but you should really see these guys; they're like the men I've always dreamed of."

Rhonda and Sarah led the mother and son into the living room. "Correct me if I'm wrong," Sarah said, "but isn't that what you told Mom and Grandma when you first got engaged to Uncle Tom? They suspected that he was all wrong for you, remember? And look at what happened. I mean, I know they're supposed to be the good guys and such, but–"

"These are different men of my dreams, Sarah," Valerie replied. "Not only are they the good guys, but they also love me and Jeremy. Barricade and Highway have especially taken a liking to him. Mace and Sundown still have yet to interact with them, but I've already talked with them both, and arrangements have been made."

"And Mom told me you also have the one with the dog," Sarah said. "Bowzer, is it? Mom said you broke up with him unreasonably over the dog's attack." She looked at Jeremy's cast. "I'm guessing that's what caused it."

"Yeah, but I acknowledged it was my fault for not watching him, _Rhonda_!" Valerie said.

"Don't fret, Valerie, I already told her about that the next morning," Rhonda replied.

"And I got back together with him just this Wednesday night," Valerie continued. "I decided that a dog attack, no matter how serious, was not justifiable to throw away something with potential."

Then, Nicole walked into the living room and announced, "Dinner should be ready in just twenty minutes." She sat down next to Jeremy and hugged him. "It's so good to see you out of the hospital." She noticed his cast, took a pen, and lifted his arm. She signed her name on a free space, then gave the pen to her sister so she could sign. They called for Caleb and asked him to sign it, too.

* * *

Valerie hadn't heard from Highway or Barricade all week. She was worried that they wouldn't love her anymore after Jeremy's dog attack. She knew there had to be a future with either of them. If they were angry or concerned, she believed, they'd tell her how they felt about it. Of course, Bowzer must have told them that he and Valerie made up. She thought about this at dinner that evening. 

Sarah looked at her aunt's expression and asked, "Is something wrong, Aunt Valerie? You look at little spaced out."

"Oh, it's Highway and Barricade," she said. "I haven't heard from them since what happened last week. I guess they think I'm an irresponsible mother."

"You're not irresponsible," Nicole told her. "You were just unaware that night."

"Still, I can't believe they'd give me the silent treatment." Valerie ate a forkful of wild rice. "Bowzer must've told them that we made up. I don't know why they wouldn't call me yesterday or Thursday."

"Aw, you know how cops are, especially if they're off-duty," Richard said. "They get a call from the chief about something big, and it's off they go from there. Maybe they were busy thwarting another scheme of Big Boss'. God, but why don't they just quit already?"

When Valerie and Jeremy got home that night, she helped him change into his pajamas, then went to see if there were any phone messages. The answering machine revealed she had two messages.

She heard Barricade's voice first. "Valerie? Valerie, it's Barricade. Listen, everyone at the headquarters learned about what happened last Friday with Bowzer. Yeah, I was little pissed at you because I thought you'd know better than to let your son go unattended with a dog, especially one like Blitz. But then, he told me about the little making up session. Anyway, I meant to call you two days ago, but then Bulletproof called me away from my off-duty time for a big takedown of the Big Boss, and it's been wild ever since. So yeah, I'm sorry I haven't been able to get a hold of you, and here I am now, and you seem to be out somewhere. Why don't you give me a call when you get this? Talk to you later."

Then, Highway's message. "Valerie? Baby, this is Highway. First off, I just want to say that I hope that Dempsey thing with Jeremy worked out for you. And speaking of which, why'd you leave him with Blitz all alone? Surely you could be a better mother than that.… Aw, what am I saying? Bowzer also admitted fault when Bulletproof was giving him shit, so I guess you're not fully to blame, are you? Anyway, I'm very happy that you and Bowzer made up. This is what I really like about you, Valerie, you're so forgiving. So, sorry I haven't called lately, but we had some really wild days here at headquarters, some racketeering and extortion cases, two bank robberies yesterday, even a hostage takeover at a subway station today. Fortunately, nothing involving you. Why don't you give me a call; I left my number on my note, hope you still have it. I'd love to hear from you. Bye."

She could feel her heart flying at that bit of truth in the message. She replayed it just to hear it: _"This is what I really like about you, Valerie, you're so forgiving."_ She almost started crying. But she calmed herself down. She remembered she never told Highway about Jeremy and Dempsey's cereal. In between worrying about Bowzer and working on another freshly completed project, she never made time either.

She pressed the button to display a list of callers, and hit the "up arrow" button. There it was, the name _D. Harlson_ on the ID. Highway, her last call. She picked up the phone, and saw Highway on the screen moments later.

"Highway, it's Valerie," she said. "Listen, I just got your message. The Dempsey assignment not only got through, but Jeremy is also going to be promoting the cereal."

"That's wonderful!" Highway said. "I always knew that kid would become famous."

"Yeah, well I meant to call you, too," Valerie replied. "But with Jeremy's little crisis, and what went on with work, I've been just as busy as you. And speaking of Jeremy's crisis, I was wondering why you and Barricade never called. I always thought you were mad at me. I'm so glad you told me you're not."

"That's why I think about you all the time," Highway said. "The others don't come out with all the details, but they talk about your loving soul, your beauty, your desire for greatness and what's best for Jeremy." He paused. "So, how would you like to come over to my place? From what you told me, you seem a little stressed out. I'll let you stretch out on my furniture."

"That's very nice, but Barricade also left a message. I should call him and find out what he wants to do."

"What's the point? You'll end up staying at your house because he hasn't seen it yet. And have you been out at all at night?"

Valerie began to see his point. She hadn't been out very much since she moved, except for work and grocery shopping. "You're right, I need to really get out. Where do you live? Maybe I can get Drew or Sheldon to come over here and look after Jeremy."

"Actually, why don't I pick you up? I know you're going to love being on my motorcycle. I promise that when I go fast, it'll be a thrill for you. But hey, I'll ride normal to your place."

"You better. I'll need time to get ready."

"See you in a little while."

She quickly hung up and called Karen's house. Drew answered, and Valerie said, "Listen Drew, if you or Sheldon aren't too busy, I need you to come look after Jeremy for me."

"No problem," he said. "Sheldon's out on a hot date, so it's just me here and I'm bored. I'll be over in a few minutes."

"I'll be in the shower when you get here, so I'll have Jeremy answer the door. See you."

Valerie showered for nearly ten minutes, then hurried into her bedroom. What if Highway was in the residence area right now? She quickly removed her towel for a fresh bra and underpants. In the closet, she saw the same maroon dress she wore on her first date with Sundown, and quickly put it on. After all, if Sundown loved her in that dress, why shouldn't Highway?

By the time she'd done her lips and eyes, she heard Drew call, "Aunt Valerie! Highway's here!"

"Dammit," she muttered. "Where does he _live_? Don't tell me he's _that_ fast on his bike." She went to her door and called loudly to Drew, "Tell him I'll be there in a minute!"

She went back to her mirror. Her hair was still damp, and she was wearing almost no makeup. But she only had time to dry and brush her hair. "Fuck this!" she said to herself. "If only men _appreciated_ having to wait twenty minutes while a woman primps."

She went to the living room to see Drew reading to Jeremy while Highway listened. They soon stopped to look at her. Highway whistled and made cat calls as he strutted over. He whispered into her ear, "You know, even with no foundation on your cheeks, chin and forehead, you're still beautiful-looking."

"I wish you gave me more time," Valerie whispered back. "I look like a Kewpie doll."

"Any kind of doll can be beautiful. You know that." He kissed her lips softly, then gave her a motorcycle helmet to wear. She strapped it on and said, "Wow, I can't believe how well it fits."

"It looks good on you," Highway assured her. "You know what, I'm kind of glad you didn't do anything fancy with your hair. I wouldn't want you to get helmet head."

She smiled, then turned to Drew and said, "All right, Drew, now I want you to put Jeremy to bed in about half an hour, maybe forty-five minutes. If the phone rings, and it says 'S. Hide' on the ID, it'll be Barricade. Take a message, and I'll call him back, depending on when I get home. Help yourself to anything in the fridge. If I'm not home by one o'clock, lock all the doors, and you can sleep on the couch."

"Don't worry, Jeremy's will be safe with me," Drew promised. "Have a nice time, and we won't wait up." Valerie kissed both their cheeks and left with Highway.

Outside, Highway put Valerie on the back of his motorcycle, revved it up and zipped away at turbo-fast speed. At first, she sensed that he was maybe going too fast. But she could feel her hair blowing with the speed. She wanted to let go of his shoulders to enhance the free feeling, but if he made a sharp turn, she could fly off and almost kill herself. _Don't be stupid, Valerie_, she thought. _Just enjoy those sexy feelings of leather and his muscle-bound shoulders_. She rubbed his shoulders some more. It felt like he wasn't wearing anything underneath the jacket.

* * *

At Highway's house, he and Valerie were cuddling on the sofa, watching a repeated episode of _Saturday Night Live_. She noticed that he wouldn't take his jacket off. They were drinking wine, champagne and brandy. By the time the show was over, they were nearly drunk, and started to kiss all over each other's faces, kissing everywhere but their lips. He fell on top of her, still kissing, and they fell off his sofa. Immediately, he felt her head and asked, "Uh, Valerie, are you okay?" 

"I should be good," she replied, her speech partially slurred. "Maybe all we need is a little sleep." Highway agreed, turned off the TV, and took her to his bedroom.

She looked around, and saw that most of it was white – the walls, the drawers of his dresser, his bed quilt. On the shelf a few feet above his bed, she noticed a white vase with a single white flower. She cooed and said meekly, "Oh, Highway, you have such a beautiful bedroom. You should see mine, it's just as lovely." She flopped upon his bed, and started bobbing up and down. "Oh, God, a waterbed. I _love_ these things! I feel so comfortable."

He shushed her, and whispered, "Don't speak, my darling. Just lie there and relax. Leave the magic to me."

She brought her head up, and watched as Highway unzipped and removed his jacket, revealing his bare chest. He sat down next to her and removed his socks, both at once. Valerie was looking excited and giddy, and she rolled over onto her side to touch him. She was touching his waist, and he slowly got up. He unzipped and slid off his jeans, leaving only a pair of bikini brief underwear. Valerie was moaning ecstatically, screaming as she stared at Highway's nearly naked body.

"Oh, Highway!" she cried. "Oh, Highway, you look so radiant when you're staring over me like that. Oh, you man! Come lie here so I can touch your gorgeous body!"

He laid her on her back and joined her, positioned on his knees. He pulled off her dress, brought her up towards him, and kissed her neck and cleavage, her head tilted back. Though still drunk, she became aware of his kiss and brought her head up. She placed her hands upon his shoulders; he moved his below her breasts. As their kissing became more passionate, they shifted and fell upon the quilt; she was soon on top of him. Then, they started rolling all over the bed, kissing like animals, touching all over. There was no heavy breathing, no dirty talk, but Highway's touch, and the feeling of his body on hers, had Valerie moaning and screaming his name – until they both fell off.

Still feeling woozy, he struggled to stand up. He managed to pick her up, then went to pull back the quilt and bedsheets. He placed Valerie in his bed, then went to lock the doors and turn out the lights.

When he returned, Highway and Valerie continued their passionate ways. In the darkness, they removed their underwear, and rolled around back and forth, kissing, pawing, licking, nibbling each other, wrinkling and unraveling the linens. She was running her nails down his bare back, rubbing his waist, then went further down. She believed she was now touching his rear.

"Highway!" she cried. "Oh, Highway, you make me feel so wonderful. I can't believe what a beautiful lover you are. Highway! Oh, Highway, you're so sexy! You have one hell of a body, you know that?" She rolled him over so she was on top of him again. She brought herself up, just so she could have another stare at his chest. She became further enamored.

"Oh, Highway, lemme at that chest." This time, she was sucking on it.

Afterwards, Highway took the sexual charge away from her. "Oh, Valerie," he said softly, "you're more beautiful than you let on! Everything I've seen, everything I've heard, you've just proven it all true!" He pinned her on the mattress and slowly went into her. "Valerie, I swear I'll be better than your fucking asshole husband ever was! Just keep giving me this chance!" He French-kissed her lips for thirty seconds. "I promise I won't fail you. I promise I won't fail your son. I love you, Valerie! Oh, Valerie!" He pulled the covers over his head and started gnawing her breasts. They started moving again as she was screaming his name over and over.

When she awoke more sober the next morning, she heard a faint humming sound from the hallway. It sounded like Highway. She sat up to a smell of pancake batter, bacon, hash browns and coffee. She was more aroused by this morning's aroma than last night's activity.

"Mmm, breakfast," she said quietly to herself. "That is so sweet of Highway." She threw off the quilt and sheets, put her clothes on, and headed directly for the kitchen. She saw Highway flipping pancakes, his bare back towards her. Feeling friskier, she crept up to him and placed her hands on his chest, sliding them down to his belly.

"Well, someone's feeling better," he said, giving her some equally frisky vibes. "Valerie, do you mind? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"I just wanted to get a final touch while you're still shirtless," she grinned. She looked over at the pancakes. "Those are turning out well. I'm always fond of a man who can cook. I guess you'd have to learn this as a bachelor, don't you?"

"Either that, or we live on fast food, or go hungry," Highway said. "Which one would you rather go for?" She didn't answer him, just kissed his lips.

He directed her to the dining table, and she sat. "You know, Highway," she said, "last night was one of the greatest nights of my life."

Highway grinned and winked at her. "You deserved it," he replied. "Richly."

Minutes later, breakfast was ready and served. Both had two pancakes and bacon strips, and a side of hash browns each. Valerie put only cream in her coffee. Highway sat down and started eating, not bothering to put a shirt on. Valerie didn't care if it was unmannerly; she actually thought it looked sexy. Once in a while, she reached over and touch his arm to tease. He just smiled back at her, and sometimes growl like he wanted to do it again. They didn't feel any need to say anything.

After a second plate, Valerie realized she had to go home. Highway stopped her and gave another long kiss before she left.

* * *

"Aunt Valerie," Drew said immediately when she came home, "Barricade called twice while you were gone. He sounded a little pissed." 

She rolled her eyes, but before she could respond, he said, "I told him you were at Highway's place. I asked if I could have you call him back, and he said no. He said something about cooking up something bigger for you."

Valerie paid him for watching Jeremy. "I'd better give him a call. Thanks, Drew."

She helped Jeremy change clothes, then rushed to call Barricade. She dialed his house and got his answering machine. She didn't bother leaving a message. She remembered him carrying a cell phone when he took her and Jeremy to the park. But he never gave her the number. She decided to call C.O.P.S. headquarters.

She was staring at Bulletproof on the screen. "Bulletproof?" she said. "Bulletproof, it's Valerie. Listen, I'd like to speak with Barricade, if I may, please?"

"As a matter of fact, he's still here," Bulletproof replied. "I was just about to send him out on assignment. Hold on, I'll put him on."

Moments later, Valerie was looking at Barricade, all in uniform. "Barricade," she said. "Oh, Barricade, I'm sorry I never called you back. I meant to, really. It's just that I returned Highway's call first and–"

"Spare the details, Valerie," Barricade interrupted. "Your nephew told me you were with Highway last night. You probably just got home, didn't you?"

"Please, Barricade, don't give me this jealous crap," she said. "Not that I had a lousy time with Highway, but I feel bad enough about this as it is." She sighed miserably. "Oh, this is just great. Just when you're ready to forgive me for my mistake, I neglect to return your nice call. You probably hate me again, don't you?"

"Nah, I don't hate you," he assured. "I just have to scheme and plan some more to make you all mine."

She cooed. "That's wonderful to hear, Barricade. You know that I still love you and some of the other C.O.P.S., right?"

"Yeah, well, uh, I'm going off-duty at five this evening, so how about you and Jeremy come over to my house for dinner tonight? And after dinner, maybe you and me can spend some time in the Jacuzzi in my backyard. Maybe you can spend the night with me, too."

She gasped happily and cried, "Oh, Barricade, that would be wonderful. But I don't know about spending the night. I'll have to be at work tomorrow morning."

"Don't worry, me too. I'll drive you to work, and maybe Jeremy can spend the day with us C.O.P.S. So, what do you say?"

"Sounds like a wonderful idea. I accept. What's your address, by the way?"

"7685 Masterland Avenue. I'll see you at six then? You and Jeremy just bring bathing suits and smiles."

"And my briefcase and laptop for work tomorrow," Valerie added. "See you."

She hung up, grabbed Jeremy and whirled him around the living room. Not only was Barricade's love for her restored, but she also remembered the street he lived on. Her family used to live on Masterland, before moving to a new neighborhood in the city when she was nine. She hadn't seen that street in years, but she'd surely know how to get there.

* * *

When Valerie and Jeremy turned onto Masterland, he immediately said, "Wow, Mom. Is this… where… you… really… lived… when you… were… little?" 

"Sure was, sweetheart," she answered. "Your Grandpa used to work at the insurance company in this area, until they closed it down after his old boss died. When he heard of a job offer in another part of the city, he took it and moved us to the downtown area. I was nine years old and going into fourth grade. And you know that house that Grandma still lives in? That's the house we moved into, and we'd lived there ever since."

"Cool," Jeremy said.

She looked at all the houses, searching out Barricade's. "This neighborhood sure hasn't changed very much."

They arrived at Barricade's house. When Valerie let Jeremy out, he was skipping happily up the walkway. She called at him, "Wait up, Jeremy! I don't think you can lift that cast-ridden arm to ring the doorbell. Let me do it." She joined him at the door and rang the bell.

Barricade answered, and Valerie was impressed by his light blue button-down short-sleeved shirt, untucked, and bone khakis. "God, but you look great," she said, kissing his lips. "Did anyone ever tell you that light blue is your color for sure?"

"Thanks for saying that," Barricade said. "It is pretty true, isn't it?"

She could smell the dinner from the kitchen, as they removed their shoes. "Oh, but something smells really good. I take it that Barricade Catering Services is proudly presenting our dinner?" She used a French accent on the last four words.

He laughed and smiled. "That was so cute. Yes, dinner should be ready in just a few minutes. You arrived just in time. It's a chicken and rice casserole, with kernel corn and peas added for color."

"It should be lovely." Valerie and Jeremy went into the kitchen and looked at the dining table. Barricade had already set out the silverware, the china with the Oriental floral pattern, and two champagne glasses. In the center were two lit candles and scented potpourri. She said, "Barricade, the settings are lovely. Oh, and I love these plates. Where did you get them? I simply must have these the next time I hold a dinner party."

"My parents got them as a wedding gift," Barricade answered. "Mom gave them to me after Dad died, and she decided to move to Phoenix. I've used them only when the family gets together at Thanksgiving at Christmas."

"You've never told your family about us yet, have you?"

"No, not yet." Then he thought, _Maybe I will once you get my fellow C.O.P.S. out of your system, and focus on _me_ more! _

Twenty minutes later, Barricade took the dinner out of the oven. Valerie was immediately attracted to the smell. "Oh my God, that's so wonderful," she said. She brought her and Jeremy's plates over and Barricade filled them. "And it looks so beautiful, too. Let me guess, you used boneless chicken breasts in this?"

He nodded and added, "And I prepared this right when I got home. Naturally, I got everything I'd need out before I left for work."

"Nice," she replied. "A cooking cop who's quick-witted. I love that."

Barricade poured champagne for himself and Valerie, poured milk for Jeremy, lit the candles before they began eating. Jeremy loved it so much, he ate it up quickly. But he waited patiently while his mother and her date were finishing their plates. As she was finishing up, Valerie looked over at her son and said, "Well, Jeremy obviously likes it. This is deliciously divine, Barricade. Thank you."

"Oh, the pleasure is all mine," he replied. When they both finished their servings, he asked "Seconds anyone? I made lots."

"I would!" Jeremy replied.

"None for me," Valerie answered. "After all, I have to watch my weight."

"I think I'll give you more anyway," Barricade insisted. "You don't need to worry about your weight. I think you're beautiful just the way you are."

Valerie gasped, touched, then she said, "That was so sweet. Thank you for saying that." She gave him a long kiss.

When dinner was over, and the dishes were done, Barricade, Valerie and Jeremy changed into their swimsuits and went out to the Jacuzzi in his backyard. At first, Barricade was concerned about Jeremy joining them, but Valerie assured him, "Don't fret, Barricade. Thanks to modern technology, Jeremy's cast took only a couple of hours to dry. Brian, Tyler, and most of my nieces and nephews were signing it that afternoon. Plus, they made it so it's waterproof. So I think he should be okay."

Ironically, it was hot and humid outside that evening, but Barricade had no swimming pool. He turned on the Jacuzzi, and Valerie immediately got comfortable with the warm water, the bubbles, the running jets. He poured some sparkling apple cider in the champagne glasses they used at dinner, stepped in and sat down next to her. Valerie was touching his shoulders and arms and said, "Oh, Barricade, I can't believe how gorgeous you look into those swim trunks, especially with no shirt on." She grinned and giggled.

He ran his hands through her hair. "You look beautiful in your swimsuit, too." Then he kissed her long and lustrous. _How wonderful_, she thought. _Has he been getting techniques from Sundown?_

After a few moments, they noticed Jeremy sitting at the stairs. Barricade smiled, like he knew what the boy was thinking, so he brought him over and sat him on his lap. Jeremy laid his head on Barricade's chest, and rested his arms upon his shoulders.

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Valerie commented. "He obviously loves you, Barricade."

"That may be," he replied, "but I love the two of you even more." And before she could react, he put his hands around her neck and kissed her again.

Unbeknownst to Valerie, one of her co-workers, Linda Fortense – who lives next door to Barricade – was spying on them from her dining room window. She couldn't stop watching them making love. "Oh my God, Wayne!" she called to her husband. "Look, there's Valerie Boston making out with Barricade in his Jacuzzi. Oh, I have to tell Teresa."

Wayne tried to stop her, saying, "Look, I know you don't agree with her parenting techniques – hell, I've seen how you are with all our kids – but that doesn't mean you should gossip about her."

"The hell it doesn't!" she blasted. "She lets that brat of hers get away with anything and everything because of his damn disabilities. Shaken Baby Syndrome is no excuse. Besides, everyone at work already knows about her stint with Mace and several of those other C.O.P.S. Now this! Valerie's turning out to be quite the slut, I'd say!" She proceeded to dial Teresa's number.

Barricade, Valerie and Jeremy were still in the Jacuzzi when the sky changed colors in the sunset. Around that time, they heard a helicopter nearby. It sounded like it was flying directly above the houses. They turned around to see a big yellow helicopter flying still in the sky, at least fifteen feet above Barricade's roof. The bottom opened up, and two ropes fell from it.

She was horrified to see Turbo Tu-Tone and Berserko sliding down the ropes, landing on the roof where they could see her. Berserko looked like he had a guitar strapped on his shoulder. Turbo looked like he was carrying a megaphone.

"Oh my God!" she cried. "Barricade, how the hell did they know where you live? Shit, you might have to move now!"

"I don't think it's me they want," Barricade said.

Turbo was staring straight down at Valerie from the rooftop. He turned on his megaphone and spoke into it, "Valerie, sweetness. Wow, but you look beautiful this evenin'. Love the way you present those juggies in that swimsuit there, baby!"

Now she was embarrassed. "That's it," she muttered, "I'm getting a breast reduction."

Barricade shushed her. "You'll do no such thing."

She watched Berserko prepare music sheets and tune his guitar, trying to ignore Turbo. But he was still speaking in the microphone loud enough. "You know, me an' Berserko here, we spent all our jail time workin' on this here ditty just fer ya. Hope ya like it, babe." He motioned to Berserko, who started playing _O Holy Night_. Turbo was singing to her to the tune of the carol.

_Oh, Valerie, I want yer lovin' soooo bad._

_I need ya now, say you'll take my big hand._

_Please sleep with me, I need yer tender warmth, dear._

_I'll make ya mine, and forget those dumb C.O.P.S._

_Sweet Valerie, come close an' hold me now–_

Valerie was immediately annoyed; she thought Turbo's singing was so awful. Moreover, she knew this was another ploy to harass her. She tried to scream over the din. "Barricade, will you get Bulletproof or whoever else on the phone to get these fuckers out of here! I'm getting a fucking migraine!" Barricade went into the house, Valerie and Jeremy following him.

Berserko stopped playing when they disappeared. He said, "Hey! Dat Valerie lady's gone! I wonder where she went off to?"

Turbo was insulted. "She obviously don't like our song," he replied. "Damn, an' we spent six hours on it! C'mon, let's git outta here. We obviously know where we ain't wanted." Berserko packed his music away, and the two climbed up to the helicopter.

When Barricade, Valerie and Jeremy came back out, the crooks were gone, though they could still hear the helicopter. Valerie gave a relieving sigh and said, "Thank God! It was really smart of you to file harassment charges. But still, I hope those assholes get caught. I can't take this shit anymore."

"They must've gone back to their headquarters," Barricade suggested. They went back in the house again just in time to hear the doorbell. Barricade answered to see Blackbelt, and immediately told him what he told Valerie. "My guess is they got insulted by Valerie leaving them; they left shortly after we went inside."

"Yeah, I just came to see if you guys were all right," Blackbelt replied. "Mace and Longarm already spotted the chopper on our way here. Thanks." Then he left.

When the episode was over, Barricade held Valerie, caressed her and whispered, "I'm so sorry this happened, Valerie. I promise we'll do anything to keep you away from Big Boss and those bastards. But right now, let me make it up to you." He brought her face up to meet his. "I think maybe you should spend the night with me. I can help you get Jeremy ready in the morning."

She smiled and said, "That'd be nice. I accept." She checked the time on his VCR. It was a little past nine o'clock. "I think it should be time for Jeremy to get ready for bed anyway." She went to the front door out to her car. "I packed overnight bags for us just in case. They're in the back. I shall return." She returned with bags of sleepwear and next day's clothes, and Barricade volunteered to put Jeremy to bed.

The dating couple had dried off, but never changed out of their bathing suits. They stayed up for another hour, making love on his sofa while listening to a CD of the most popular love songs.

When they were ready for bed, Valerie saw that Barricade had already prepared it. She kissed him and said, "Oh, Barricade, I never knew you were this considerate."

They sat on opposite ends of the bed, their backs away from each other, took off their bathing suits, and tucked themselves in, rolling around to face each other. They grabbed onto each other's shoulders, and continued with their romantic passion. When she was on top of him, she sat up for a moment, letting the covers slide halfway down her back. He was enthralled by the sight of her breasts, and he sat up to kiss her cleavage. He knew better than to go any further.

She waited until he finished, then they shifted themselves back down, her head on his chest. She was listening to his steady heartbeat and said softly, "Barricade, if you want, I can make your heart beat faster for you." She sat back up again and started to massage his body. Barricade was already starting to enjoy it, and his love for it grew as she slid her fingernails all over his stomach, then kneaded his waist like it was bread yeast.

He put his arms around her, shifted her around so he was on top of her, and started to kiss and suck her all over her body. He was softly calling out her name as he did this, and she responded with the same "You're so wonderful" messages over and over.

When they were ready to fall asleep, Valerie placed the covers just over her breasts, while Barricade put them all the way up to his underarms. She noticed this, and pulled them down past his chest. "Why don't you sleep like that?" she suggested. "It'll make you look sexier. And you'll feel sexier knowing that beautiful chest will be the first thing I look at in the morning."

"You've thought of everything, love," he grinned. She moved closer so they could hold each other as they fell asleep.

At seven the next morning, Valerie awoke. Barricade was still sleeping deeply, on his side, away from her. She saw her overnight bag on his closet door handle, so she quickly got up and searched for her bra and underpants. She put them on, grabbed her bag and rushed to the bathroom without waking Barricade. Once there, she turned on his shower and stepped in.

Shortly afterwards, she heard the door open. She suddenly became scared; what if Turbo and Berserko broke into the house. Barricade would take care of it, she knew. Something like break and enter would awaken him fast. But she was surprised when the shower curtain opened, and saw Barricade standing there, wearing only briefs.

Valerie quickly covered herself. "Barricade!" she cried. "I'm sorry if this is unmannerly, but I have to get ready for work."

But he didn't seem angry, more aroused. "That's quite all right," he said. "You've been so wonderful to me, I think you deserve it."

"You know what, Barricade, you were even better," she told him. "I'll only be a few minutes. Why don't you get Jeremy up and dressed, and I'll just about be out by then."

"How about we let him sleep a little longer?" With that, he stripped off his briefs and stepped into the shower with her. They continued to make passionate love, steamier than even the shower heat this time, and were even washing each other down.

* * *

**A/N:** Yeah, that last part seemed disturbingly similar to the disgusting passage barricade read in my last fic, "A Novel Dishonor," but unlike that one, this doesn't show Barricade and Valerie down on their knees in a dirty fuckfest! LOL! So this one is okay! I'm not looking for any trouble here. Anyway, don't forget to read and review, and to all the Americans on here, have a happy Fourth of July. I just survived Canada Day yesterday. 


	13. The Quality Time Test

**Author's Note:** Wow! This is the longest update I've ever done – just about a whole month! What took so long, you ask? Well, apart from the hot, sunny weather that had me outside for walking lately (and the high humidity in the home that kept me from concentrating on this,) I had to vacuum out my basement full of water FOUR FRICKING TIMES since my last update! Three of those times resulted from acts of God (especially since Southern Manitoba was hit hard by a massive thunderstorm the weekend of July 16th. But this other one (July 12th) was the result of a blown circuit that caused our sump pump in the recreation room to stop working (having cleaned up our second act of God the day before.) So it's been really crazy this past month. Anyway, I hope this was worth the wait for all of you. Read and review!

* * *

Chapter 13

That Wednesday, Valerie decided to stop by C.O.P.S. headquarters after work, to speak with Bulletproof. It was now time for her beaux to be tested on another aspect of her love – spending some real quality time with Jeremy. She admired her son's bond with Barricade, and his somewhat fondness for Highway. But he never really had a chance with Bowzer, and he'd only interacted with Mace and Sundown for the first time – along with some others – at the headquarters two days earlier.

"Why, Valerie," Bulletproof told her, "I think it's a wonderful idea that you want Mace, Sundown, Barricade, Highway and Bowzer to spend some quality time alone with Jeremy. We all saw how special he really is when Barricade brought him in Monday morning. It seems that he's very fond of everyone here."

Valerie laughed. "Seriously, though," she said, "I think that this will help me greatly in deciding whom I want a future with. One day with each of your men, and based on whom Jeremy loves the most, that'll be the one I'll choose."

Bulletproof started looking through the duty schedule for that weekend. "Well, let's see. Highway and Barricade don't have days off this weekend, but Mace has Friday off, Sundown has Sunday off, and Bowzer has Monday off. Oh, but Barricade's been assigned to handle security at the Fourth of July festivities this Saturday. Maybe Jeremy can enjoy this with him." He looked curiously at Valerie. "Do you have a business trip coming up or something?"

She laughed harder. "Absolutely not. Although I'll probably be scheduled to fly to Los Angeles early next month. Photo shoot and commercials, and I'll actually be expected to take Jeremy with me then."

As she was leaving the headquarters, she noticed Bowzer, Sundown and Mace come back in, probably from assignments. She smiled at them and said, "I hear you handsome gentlemen have some days off this weekend. That's just perfect. I think this would be the perfect opportunity to leave Jeremy in your care for the days."

"That's wonderful, Valerie," Sundown said. He took her hand. "Y'know, I've waited all day to tell you this, but I can still remember Jeremy from the police picnic, an' last night, I just started to think of him. I thought of him a good part of the night, too. I dreamt that he an' I were sharin' a horseback ride together. As we were goin' through this dusty town, he told me in slow talk that he wished he were normal, so he could be a cowboy like me when he grew up."

Valerie beamed. "Oh, Sundown, that was so sweet."

"There's more," he continued. "As we rode along, the dusty trails began to turn into this lush grass field. That horse of ours got all riled up an' ran faster. Jeremy was lookin' scared, so I held onto him the best I could. In the distance, we saw the most beautiful mountains. Then suddenly, that damn horse stopped an' motioned for us to get off, so we just went for an intimate walk through the field an' up the mountain. I did more than just take his hand, I decided to hold him close. An' when we reached the top, I told him softly that I loved him, an' that I wanted to be his daddy, an' that I wanted him to love me like he tried to love his daddy. He nuzzled my cheek an' told me he loved me too, then we stood there watchin' the sunset in silence." He stepped closer to her and whispered. "I wanna make that last part come true."

Before he could say anything more, Mace burst an extremely loud laugh, making fun of Sundown's dream. "Horseback ridin'?" he commented. Green fields? Mountains? Intimacy in the sunset? What, you wanna make the kid into some lovesick country singer? Now, me, I'd take the kid on an adventure of massive physical strength. I'll teach him rock climbin', an' the two of us can hit the most popular men's gym in town, an' I can be his spotter as he does six sets of eight liftin' those dumbbells–"

Valerie stopped him immediately. She said, "Uh, Mace, hold those thoughts. Jeremy isn't physically inclined. He can't even do the balance beam, for God's sake. You're going to have to think of something else."

Sundown looked at Bowzer and asked him, "What do _you_ plan to do with Jeremy?"

"I haven't decided yet," Bowzer replied. "I'll tell Valerie as soon as I think of something."

She smiled and gave them all her e-mail address before she left. Minutes after she left the headquarters, Highway and Barricade came back. Mace revealed to them, "Valerie's havin' us spend quality time with Jeremy this weekend. Too bad you gotta work." But they noticed the slips of paper and took them, copying Valerie's e-mail address.

"That isn't going to stop us," Highway declared.

* * *

That night, Valerie logged on to check her e-mail. Some Spam about dating websites, weight loss pills and paying online surveys, some offers for free CD's and DVD's, and an alert from that Classmates website. Then there were e-mail messages from Mace, Bowzer, Sundown, Barricade and Highway, though they all had their given names in the From line. They all said the same thing in the Subject line: _My Time With Jeremy_. She clicked on Mace's message first. It read: 

_Hey, Valerie!_

_It's too bad you had to tell me Jeremy's not physically able to do much, so I had to rack my brain deciding what to do with this kid. I think Jeremy should be as active as possible, despite his disabilities, so I'm thinking an afternoon down at the rec center. Maybe a few games one one-on-one floor hockey, basketball, racquetball and a few laps around this really neat obstacle course that they have there, that I really think Jeremy would like. Then, after a nice dinner, maybe a swim at the same pool we went to. I'll make reservations right away. It has to be better than blowing tokens at the video arcade, right?_

_Oh, and in case Bulletproof didn't tell you, I'll be helping Barricade with security at the 4th of July fireworks. So I have another activity to do with Jeremy. Really looking forward to it all._

_Mace_

It sounded like something Jeremy would go for. It wasn't too physically demanding on him. Valerie remembered that he loved to play floor hockey and badminton during gym class. She remembered hearing that during the divorce proceedings. But she'd have to tell him that the basketball was out, because he was still cast-ridden. And Mace would have to be the one serving if they played badminton, unless it's underhand. Nothing that would have him raising his arms. He'd also have to help him in the obstacle course. She reminded him this in a reply.

She clicked on Sundown's message next. She was immediately taken by the romantic sound in it. It read:

_My sweet Valerie,_

_Before you left the headquarters today, I told you about that dream I had where Jeremy and I were on that horse and we ended up in beautiful green pastures. I told you how a loving bond blossomed between us. If Mace hadn't rudely interrupted us, I could've had you melting beneath my soul like butter on hot Cajun popcorn._

_What I really wanted to tell you was that this dream inspired what I wanted to do with Jeremy, should you bring it up again. Valerie, I want to put him in my truck, take him out of Empire City for a drive through the country. I wish the two of us could've arranged a daytime date, so I could've taken you beforehand. I reckon your old husband never did this with the boy when you were still married to him. I always believed that a young man should be shown the wonders of the outdoors so he'll have a better view of the outside world._

_I also want to use this opportunity to let him know how I feel about you. Perhaps if I open up to him and let him know, I could win the love of both of you. Do you understand how much you mean to me, Valerie? I dream of the day I take you as my bride, and take Jeremy as my son. I want this outing to work for me._

_Take wonderful care._

_Sundown_

"How sweet," Valerie cooed to herself. "And such a beautiful dream. Oh, but it's so worthy of coming true. Oh, Sundown, yes, you can take Jeremy into the country. Come back at the end of the week, if you want to."

She took a breath to keep herself from getting all giddy. There were other messages she had to read. She clicked on Bowzer's message next.

_Hi, Valerie!_

_Just writing to let you know of my plans for my one-on-one with Jeremy. I can pick him up in the afternoon, then there's this dog-walking trail a few miles out of town that I frequent with Blitz; I'd like to take the kid along with me. Then, I'll take him back to my place, and we can watch a movie together or something. (I'd take him to a matinee, except Blitz wouldn't be allowed in the theater, and I don't think Jeremy can handle himself in such a place.) I'll cook him dinner, then I'll take him to the beach. I always do this with Blitz on my evenings off, and we play fetch with Frisbees and sticks. I promise to watch him extra carefully with Blitz, so we don't have déjà vu of what happened two weeks ago. I hope this is all right with you, sweetheart. I really think Jeremy should learn to interact with Blitz in a friendly manner._

_Bowzer_

Valerie scrutinized the note. Except for that "sweetheart" bit, it didn't sound very romantic. Straight-forward and very much to the point. But truthful, nonetheless. Rhonda did say Bowzer never went anywhere without Blitz, and Valerie guessed that would include this bonding date. She decided to give that dog another chance – _if_ Bowzer really promised to watch him.

She opened Barricade's e-mail next. This one was much shorter, maybe no more than a few lines. It read:

_Dear Valerie:_

_Just a short little note to tell you that I plan to mix my duty time with special time with Jeremy. Bulletproof basically suggested it. He said that I should sit front row with Jeremy at the 4th of July celebrations at the Empire City Park, all the while looking out for rowdy people. I think it sounds like the perfect arrangement, and I'll definitely be standing with your son to watch the fireworks. I promise I'll show him a fun time as I work. Neither of you will be disappointed._

_Barricade_

Valerie smiled and nodded. She was glad that Bulletproof suggested what Barricade should do with Jeremy. She could probably tell that Barricade was thinking the same thing. "That's my man, Barricade," she said to herself. "Show everyone out there that you can mix business with pleasure." She reminded herself, "Be sure to tell Bulletproof thanks for the idea. And make sure the family sits far away from Jeremy. He needs to be alone with Barricade."

Finally, she clicked on Highway's message. She was expressively impressed by what _he_ wanted to do with Jeremy. His message read:

_Hey, Valerie!_

_I just checked with Bulletproof, and he told me I have next Wednesday (July 8th) off. Be sure to pack a swimsuit and towel for Jeremy, because I plan to take him to the Rippin' Wild Water Park. I love waterslides, and I guarantee Jeremy will love them, too. As well, they have go-carts that we can share, and bumper boats. Then after dinner, we'll play a game of miniature golf. If you want to come with us, we can make it a date! Got that idea from Barricade, who says you bring the boy on all your daytime dates. Well, now it's my turn… lol! Let me know what you think. I love you. XOXOXOXO_

_Highway_

Valerie laughed at the "daytime date" part of his message. "Oh, Highway," she said, "did it ever occur to you that I have to _work_ that day. Plus, I was thinking along the lines of you being _alone _with Jeremy. I'll give you an 'A' for effort, though." She stated all this in an e-mail reply to him, then logged off after she sent it.

Before going to bed, she crept into Jeremy's room. She noticed he was sleeping deeply, so she quickly left without waking him. She never dared tell him what was going on. She wanted everything to be a surprise.

* * *

The next day, after lunch, Karen heard her doorbell ring. "Oh, I think that'll be Mace," she declared. "Thank God Valerie gave him my address." She said to Jeremy, "Jeremy, it's time for you to go. Time for me to hand you over to the C.O.P.S." 

She saw Mace coming into the living room with Drew. She introduced herself and said, "I learn so much about you in the news. I think it's exceptional what you do." She stepped back to look at his outfit, a black dress shirt with denims and loafers. "God, but that's so stylish. God, now I know why Valerie's into you."

Drew quickly interrupted her. "Mom, don't get into that stuff about how if Dad were dead, you'd hook up with him. Don't try to embarrass us."

Karen cleared her throat and handed Jeremy over to Mace. He took Jeremy's bag of swimming gear. Before they left, she said to the boy, "Please be good, and do exactly what Mace tells you. And most importantly, have fun."

Mace grinned and promised her, "I'll guard him with my life. Oh, and Valerie should be home by the time we get back, so I'm taking him to her place." Karen nodded as they left.

On their way to the recreation center, Mace said to Jeremy, "So, Jeremy, your mother tells me you're really good at some sports, but you ain't all that physically oriented."

"I'm not," Jeremy replied. "I'm… really… good at… passing… balls… and… swinging… and… throwing,… but I'm… not a… fast… runner. I'm a… trotter."

"So, you're good with your arms, are ya?" Mace asked. "How your jumpin'? I know you ain't that tall, but if you can jump high enough, you can maybe sink a few baskets. You any good at basketball?"

"I've… never… played… basketball… before," Jeremy answered. "I've only… played… dodgeball,… kickball,… badminton,… and I… did… obstacle… courses… in all my… gym… classes. Oh, and I… started… learning… floor… hockey… this year. It was… really… fun. I loved it."

"Of course," Mace said. "Sure, you haven't learned basketball yet. Most kids don't learn that until they hit middle school. Too bad about your arm, though. But I can tell you're gonna like today, 'cause we're gonna play all your favorite games."

"Cool!" Jeremy cried.

"Yeah, I figured just because you're disabled an' in a cast doesn't mean you shouldn't be active," Mace told him. "I keep myself fairly active through sports an' bodybuildin', as you can tell by my body mass. An' after I treat ya' to a nice dinner, you an' me, we're gonna go for a swim. I've reserved the same pool your mother an' I went to on our first date."

"Excellent!" Jeremy shouted. "I love… swimming!"

He was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, so Mace never had to worry about helping him. As he was changing, Jeremy said, "Don't… worry,… Mace. Mom says… this… cast… is just… about… ready… to come… off. She… already… made an… appointment… for this… Sunday… morning."

"Well, that's great!" Mace replied. "Then I'll teach ya basketball next time."

They found the gymnasium empty, and Mace said, "Lookit this, son. We have this all to ourselves." They decided to start with floor hockey. Mace gave Jeremy two hockey sticks and a red rubber ball, while he set up a net. During play, Mace was certainly running faster than Jeremy, but Jeremy was shooting harder. He wasn't very good at stealing the ball from behind Mace, but when it was in his possession, he was able to hit it into the net. After about twenty minutes of play, he was leading Mace, three points to two.

"Wow!" Mace cried. "That arm must be almost healin'! That's a damn good swing there." He stopped to inspect his cast-ridden arm. "You sure you can move it okay? That looks pretty heavy for a small arm."

"Of course… I can… move… this… arm… back… and… forth," Jeremy told him. "I just… can't… lift it… up… over… my head,… that's… all."

Mace grinned at him. "That's good enough."

They played for forty more minutes, in which Jeremy defeated Mace, seven points to five. Afterwards, Mace put away the hockey net for a badminton net. He let Jeremy serve first, but the boy could barely get it over the net because of his arm. Fortunately, Mace never swung the birdie high, so Jeremy could pass underhand.

They played for a little over half an hour, in which Mace defeated Jeremy, fifteen points to ten. Jeremy was disappointed, but Mace quickly went to comfort him. He said, "Don't be sad, kid. Maybe you'll get better once that cast comes off. Next time, son, I promise." He started to put the badminton net away. "Hey, what say we give those swingin' arms a break an' tackle that obstacle course they just set up?"

"Really?" Jeremy said. "Cool!"

"Yep!" Mace assured him. "There's a large room just above this gym an' the weight room. Usually, they do martial arts in that space, but they wanted to put somethin' special for the kids this summer. So they decided on an obstacle course designed for them."

They went upstairs to a room as big as the gym. Jeremy looked as overjoyed as he would in a video game and pinball place. It looked like something he enjoyed doing in gym class. There were five swinging ropes, a large two-sided stepladder, tires to step through, parallel bars, scooters, even two balance beams.

Jeremy became nervous at the balance beams. "Uh, M-M-M-Mace," he stammered. I'm… no good… at… the… balance… beams. I can't… put my… feet… in… front… of… each… other."

"You're not _that_ uncoordinated, are ya?" Mace asked. Jeremy nodded rapidly. "Damn, that must be part of your syndrome, ain't it? Well, don't worry, I'll guide you through it."

He took Jeremy over to the ropes, and the boy selected the middle one. When Mace gave the signal, he swung into a big landing net used for trapeze artists. He climbed over the pole vault, then climbed up the first balance beam. Mace took his hand and said, "Remember, kid, put one foot in front of the other."

Jeremy tried to concentrate. It was a thick beam, but Jeremy was staring down at his feet, moving rather slowly. He almost slipped a couple of times, but Mace caught him quickly. It took him almost a minute to get across, and when he did, Mace smiled proudly and said, "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Jeremy never answered.

They were three-fifths of the way through the first lap, after the tires, when they came to the second balance beam, this one being a little thinner. Jeremy was a little more nervous this time, moving slower. It took him almost ninety seconds to get across this one. And when they finally completed the lap, he was thrilled. He thought it was so much fun, despite the balance beams. He grinned at Mace and said, "Let's… do it… again!"

They went through for the rest of the afternoon. On the third lap, Mace said, "Jeremy, I want you to try the balance beams by yourself." Nervously, he agreed. He climbed up and stretched his arms out, looking down at his feet, moving at the slow pace he did before. But halfway though, his right foot slipped a little, and he suddenly lost his balance. Mace rushed to catch him before he could fall onto the floor.

"You okay, bud?" he asked. But Jeremy was to bewildered to answer him. "Ya know, maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all. I think maybe we should skip the balance beams, and just focus on the rest of this course." Jeremy nodded and went directly to the next obstacle, the two-sided stepladder. And that was how it was until they decided to have dinner.

After dinner, Mace took Jeremy swimming. He had to help him with his shirt because of his cast. He knew Jeremy should be okay with that cast in the water. He wondered if he should request one water wing for him. But he decided not to; he'll just keep him swimming in the shallow end.

Mace put on a pair of fluorescent purple swim trunks, not the Speedo he wore last time. Jeremy just stared at him and started, "You've… got a… good… enough… body,… Mace."

"I know," Mace said, "but it ain't appropriate to show off so much in front of a kid like you." He removed Jeremy's glasses and put them in his locker. "You shouldn't be swimming with these on. Can you see me okay?"

"You… look… all… blurry," Jeremy answered. Mace chuckled and took him to the showers, then they proceeded to the pool.

In the water, Mace stood at one end of the pool and instructed, "Now come swim towards me." Jeremy did so, pushing his arms out while kicking his legs. At first, Mace wanted to ask why he wasn't swimming like normal, but then he remembered Jeremy shouldn't be lifting his arms with his cast. Halfway though, Jeremy started to lose energy, and resorted to doggy paddling.

"Arms tired already?" Mace asked when Jeremy reached him. "How often do you swim, Jeremy?"

"Mom… would… take… me to the… community… pool… every… Sunday… in the… summer… when we… lived in… Indiana," Jeremy said. "A few… kids… I know… have… pools… in their… backyards… but… they'd… never… invite… me… over."

Mace frowned and walked away from the edge. His back was facing Jeremy, and he said, "You think you can climb onto my back? Then if you hold on real tight, we can go to the deep end an' swim together." But Jeremy could only clutch onto his waist, so Mace had to bend over and let the boy crawl. Jeremy's arms were too small to reach around Mace's chest, so he clutched onto his shoulders tightly. Mace walked out to the five-foot level of the water, then lowered himself under.

Meanwhile, Buttons and Turbo were on the rec center roof with Nightshade. She was now completely determined to get her lover back. "The computer in the van has tracked Mace here," she said. "Now, where is he? I'm tired of him hanging up whenever I call, slamming the door my face, resisting my seductive ways. I've put up with this shit all week. I know he's still thinking about that bitch!"

Buttons spied the window dome located above the pool and said, "I think I have an idea." He led his accomplices to it, and they could see a swimmer diving out of the water and back in, like a dolphin. It looked as if he had a small child attached to him. But they couldn't identify him.

"If only he could stay up long enough," Buttons commented.

"Oh, he'll be gaspin' fer air soon," Turbo assured him.

They waited a few minutes longer before the swimmer came back to the shallow end. Right away, Nightshade could identify him by his shoulder mass. "That _is_ Mace!" she cried. "How convenient he's at the same place he took that slut. But who is that attached to him? Thank God it's not _her_!"

"Beats the shit outta me," Turbo replied. "Looks like a little boy."

They watched as Mace and Jeremy stepped out of the pool and went back in with a floating raft. Jeremy got on first, then Mace pushed it out further before he got on. Both of them were lying on their sides, so they didn't notice the crooks. Immediately, Nightshade said, "Oh, he is _not_ ignoring me like that." She climbed onto the dome and started stomping on it with her boot.

"Nightshade, stop that," Turbo demanded. "That copper will see ya and call in the cavalry."

"Fuck that!" Nightshade spat. "I _want_ Mace to see me. Once he sees how much this relationship means to me, he'll throw that tramp over. I'm going to get his love back, no matter what it takes." She kept stomping, forming cracks in the glass.

In the pool, Mace was horrified to see Big Boss' minions above him. Jeremy couldn't see them, but he asked, "What's… wrong? What's… all the… noise… for?"

Mace answered, "Jeremy, I'm glad ya can't see 'em, but those are Buttons McBoomBoom, Turbo Tu-Tone and Nightshade up there. I think they'll try to kidnap ya so they can get to yer mother."

"We… can't… leave… now," Jeremy said. "I'm… having… so much… fun… with… you. Maybe… if we… ignore… them,… they… will go… away." With that, Mace began to push the raft into the deep end.

But Nightshade wouldn't accept it. "NO!" she shouted. "Stop ignoring me, Mace, because I will not go away!" She stomped harder, making the cracks bigger than before. Buttons and Turbo climbed onto the dome to get her to stop, but somehow, the glass began to crack under the weight. Suddenly, the dome smashed, causing them to fall through into the pool.

Their splash was so big, it caused Mace and Jeremy's raft to flip over. Mace quickly held onto Jeremy while they were underwater, then brought him out and told him, "Stay on the deck while I take care of these guys!" Immediately, he began to punch Buttons and Turbo in their faces back and forth, until they lost consciousness. And before he could move onto Nightshade, she immediately threw herself at him and screamed, "Mace! Mace, Please don't do this! I'm begging you not to throw our love away. Both you and I know that you only want Valerie Boston for the sex. Baby, I can give it to you better, because I've loved you a lot longer."

"Keep away from me, Nightshade!" Mace ordered. He swam out of the pool before she could catch him. "You honestly think I can keep up a relationship with a jewel thief who can be lured easily back into crime? What would everyone say if we got married? They'd never believe us! Besides, I fell in love with Valerie! I'm spendin' time with her son there to capture her heart."

"But we were going to have children of our own!" Nightshade screamed. Mace ignored it and took Jeremy into the locker room. There, he called Bulletproof to report the crooks' presence.

Upon the arrest, Mace informed Bulletproof, "I'm pretty sure Buttons and Turbo were sent to track us down just to get Jeremy. I believe he's their major link to Valerie now. Nightshade only tagged along in attempt to get me away from Valerie. I'll bet she's helpin' the Big Boss drive her towards them!"

Nightshade overheard this and screamed, "_LIAR_! Mace, you _know_ I was only trying to get you back! I want the love that we had back! Stop being such an asshole, and tell them you love me more than her! You _know_ I've never stopped loving you! And you knew it was over with that damn gang for a year now! Mace, please tell them that you love me!" But she was quickly escorted out with her cohorts.

Mace and Jeremy waited until Bulletproof was gone, then he said, "Son, I think it's time I took you home now. We can't really swim anymore with all the glass in the pool." Jeremy nodded and took Mace's hand. In the locker room, he helped the boy change clothes before changing himself. Before they left, Mace reported the damage in the pool to the front desk. He wondered what Valerie would think of this latest invasion.

* * *

Valerie was horrified when Mace told her about the incident at the pool. She said, "Ohmigod, I can't believe this! Why would the Big Boss want to use my son to get to me? Why can't he understand the concept of 'no?' Why can't he just accept that I don't want to date, screw, or marry him? And why can't his fuckheads learn that I don't want _them_ either!" 

Mace held her and said, "Don't be so scared, baby. Bulletproof said–"

"I'm not scared, Mace," Valerie replied. "I'm just upset. I can't take this harassment anymore." She broke from his embrace. "Now all I want is for Big Boss to be put in jail forever so he can leave me alone."

He held her again. "Hey, Bulletproof assured me he will do somethin' about security at the festivities tomorrow. It's likely Jeremy will be Barricade's sole responsibility. Trust me, we would never let anythin' bad happen to this kid. Neither would Bulletproof."

* * *

While Mace was comforting Valerie, Bulletproof was holding an emergency meeting for all officers present at the headquarters. Barricade was among those in attendance. 

"The safety of Jeremy Boston is now at terrible risk," he informed his team. "If members of Big Boss' gang can show up when he is alone with one of our own at a public pool, imagine what could happen in a public park with thousands of people."

He looked around at them. "I will be informing the security service in charge of tomorrow's activities that extra security will be needed to assist Mace to look out for the daytime crowds." He focused on Barricade. "Barricade, your sole responsibility will be to take care of Jeremy during the day. However, you will be able to help control the crowd at the fireworks display later."

"Mission accepted," Barricade replied. "I can use this as part of the 'quality time' that Valerie wants me to spend with Jeremy." Then he thought, _My future with her depends on this._

Mace came in just as the meeting concluded. Bulletproof informed him what was going on, then called for more security.

* * *

Barricade showed up at Valerie's house the next morning, just as she and Jeremy were getting ready to go to the hospital. She was surprised, and said, "Barricade! I was going to meet you at the park this afternoon. I just wanted to take him to the hospital first to have the cast removed." 

"Actually, I was thinking maybe I can escort Jeremy to the park myself," he told her. "I heard about what happened last night, and I've been assigned to look out for him. In a way, both you and Bulletproof have assigned this quality time to me."

"Oh, Barricade, that's so wonderful," Valerie said softly, kissing him. "I can't believe how good this is. Now I can enjoy myself without having to worry about him." She raised his arm to show his cast. "But still, I want to take care of this first. It's been two weeks since he was able to throw balls around."

"I'll follow you," Barricade said. "Then you can hand him over to me."

Barricade waited twenty minutes in the hospital parking lot, while Jeremy had his cast removed. When he and Valerie came out, his arm had healed had healed from Blitz's bite. He felt freer and lighter as he was circling his arm around a few times. Barricade smiled, looking at the football, baseball, and ball and catcher's pads made of Velcro. He said to Jeremy, "It's so good to see you can raise your arm again. Now you'll be able to catch these." He put him in his front seat.

At the park, they set up lawn chairs in the very front row, in front of a small stage. A hypnotist was putting volunteer kids into sleeping trances, and making them act like animals. Jeremy noticed Tyler among the group, and started to point him out, but Barricade whispered, "Don't be so loud, son. What if someone suspicious were to hear you? Your mother and I would die if you got kidnapped."

Jeremy nodded. "So if… the… hypnotic… man… were to… ask… for… another… volunteer,… then I… can't… go… up… there?" he assumed.

Barricade shook his head. "We can't have you be seen by everyone. Security's been taken care of, but it's still too risky." Jeremy looked disappointed, but seemed to accept it.

When Barricade checked the time, it was nearly twelve-thirty. He decided to buy lunch for him. He bought Jeremy a plain hot dog and small fries, while he settled on the same hamburger he had the last time. As they were eating, Jeremy said, "So I… guess… you… heard… about… what… happened… at the… pool… last… night."

"Yes," Barricade answered. "From what Bulletproof told us, they wanted to use you as a pawn to pursue your mother. Damn crooks just never give up. They might be breaking out of jail as we speak. So Bulletproof told me to watch over you."

"I… watched… Mace… beating… those… two… ugly… guys," Jeremy said. "I… couldn't… see them… without… my… glasses. Mace… said… they… wanted… to take… me,… but I… didn't… really… know… that."

"Oh, Jeremy," Barricade said. He moved the boy's lunch over to where he sat, and had him sit beside him. "There are a lot of things you can't possibly understand because of your syndrome. You really don't know what these guys are capable of. If they ever took you, they might try to hurt you, or frighten you into telling them where your mother is. You don't want that, do you?" Jeremy shook his head. "So we need to keep a close watch on you to make sure nothing happens."

Jeremy didn't respond, but the look in his eyes told Barricade he understood.

When they were finished, Barricade and Jeremy returned to the stage, but a polka act began to perform for the more senior audience. Jeremy wasn't interested in it, so they put the lawn chairs away, and got the balls out. They went to the playground, where Jeremy noticed some kids playing on the equipment. Some parents were even taking their kids to the petting zoo.

Barricade and Jeremy played games of catch with all three balls the whole afternoon. Time and again, Jeremy would look around to see if any of his cousins or friends would approach him, ask to join them, or take him away from Barricade. But that never happened.

"Stop wondering, kid, it's just you and me, remember?" Barricade said the third time the boy looked. "I'm sure your mother and aunts told your cousins not to bother us." Jeremy smiled in acceptance, and threw a fastball at him with the baseball.

The only time Jeremy saw his family again was during and after dinner. He held his mother, and she asked, "Are you enjoying yourself with Barricade?"

He nodded and said, "He's… so… wonderful. We had… so… much… fun… playing… with… those… neat… catch pads." Barricade started to look around, hoping Mace and the other C.O.P.S. didn't overhear that. He didn't want the competition to get rough on a day of celebration.

They stayed with Valerie, her sisters, and their families the whole evening. Two up-and-coming rock bands, Chocolate Starfish and The Test Pilots, played on the stage for an hour and fifteen minutes each. Around them, teenagers and college-aged kids were dancing to the music, and many of the girls were screaming. Jeremy looked bored the whole time, and his cousins never really cared for the second band.

He heard Nicole say, "That first band was good, but these damn Test Pilots are obviously nothing more than a bunch of pop-punk poseur wannabes. Look, the only thing they can possibly get by on is their good looks. So far, I only like that _Starshine_ song, but other than that, I have more punk in my hangnail then they do in half their songs. I predict one-hit wonder status for _these_ freaks." She left to find some of her like-minded girlfriends.

At nine o'clock, the entertainment was over, and the fireworks were poised to start. Barricade took Jeremy and went across the bridge overlooking the King Empire River. He was now going to help Mace look out for anyone suspicious or shady crossing. They worked for an hour before the bridge closed, then took Jeremy back across, settling down near it, close to the river.

"You've got the best view here, kid," Barricade said. "The fireworks display here is one of the most spectacular sights in the whole city on this night."

The fireworks display was one of the most beautiful that was ever put on. Jeremy kept staring up at the sky, staring at all the colorful explosions. Some even formed shapes that he thought looked, "awesome" – a red star in an indigo circle; green fireworks in the shapes of the Big and Little Dippers; orange "X" and yellow "Z" shapes; blue, indigo and violet swirl shapes. But the prettiest came at the conclusion, where the showed the "waterfall" over the bridge. It looked like nothing more than a colorful rainbow.

"Oh,… how… beautiful," Jeremy cooed. "I wish… Mom… was… with… us… now. She… would've… loved… to… share… this… with… you." He put his head on Barricade's shoulder. Mace saw this, but decided to do nothing about it. It looked like a lovely moment he didn't want to spoil, though he wished it had been _his_ shoulder.

Shortly afterwards, the show ended. Mace and Barricade went on duty again, making sure the crowds didn't cross the bridge until they got the signal. Around ten minutes later, they let the crowds pass. Amongst them, they saw Valerie and her family. When Valerie walked up to them, she gave Barricade a long kiss and said, "I think you did a wonderful job with Jeremy. I saw how he was cuddling up to you in front of everyone. I think he loves you even more."

"Would it be all right if I took him home when all this is over?" Barricade offered.

"Barricade, that would be wonderful. Rhonda just invited Karen and me over for a few hours, just us girls. You can look after him until I get home." She kissed Jeremy's forehead, winked at Barricade and left. As Barricade turned to watch her go, he caught Mace looking jealous at their conversation.

"Why are you looking at me like that, Mace?" he asked. "Everyone knows you had your day with him."

* * *

Late the next morning, as Valerie was vacuuming the living room, she spied Sundown approaching the front door through the window. "Oh, that'll be for you, honey," she told Jeremy. "Answer the door, would you, please?" He got up as the doorbell rang, and when he answered, he said, "Wow,… Sundown,… you… look… nice." 

"Thanks, pardner," Sundown replied. "You look pretty swell y'self."

Valerie noticed what Sundown was wearing as he stood in the front hall. A sky-blue cowboy shirt with black jeans, brown boots and his trademark hat. She thought he looked his most beautiful. If only the shirt were unbuttoned down to his belly, she'd think he'd look like a romance cover model. Wordlessly, she turned off the vacuum, went to Sundown and kissed him.

"Easy, Val," he said a few moments later. "I'm only here to pick up Jeremy here."

"Taking him into the country like you said?" she asked.

"Y'bet. An' what I want to show him is at its most beautiful this time of year."

She kissed him softer. "You two just enjoy yourselves. And if you two want to stop for dinner on your way home, that's fine. Don't worry about me." She turned to Jeremy. "You be good for Sundown, okay?" He nodded.

"Don't worry, m'lady," Sundown said. "Jeremy's gonna have the day he'll always treasure." He kissed her again, and left the house with her son.

Sundown placed Jeremy in the passenger's seat and buckled him up. When he revved his truck up, Jeremy heard a radio station playing commercials.

"Hope y'like country music, son," Sundown said to him, "'cause the radio's stayin' on that station."

Jeremy started to laugh. "I'm… so… glad… you're… dating… my Mom… and… not… my… aunts," he said. "I can't… speak… for… myself,… but… none of… my… cousins… like… country… music."

It took them almost an hour to leave Empire City. Jeremy spent the whole time just staring out the window, at all the small stores and luncheonettes going by them, even a drive-in theater. They were heading west, and it was soon nothing but highway, open fields, trees, and the occasional dirt road.

"I know this may look borin' to you," Sundown said, "but I think a drive in the open country just might be a refreshin' experience for ya."

"This… doesn't… look… very… scenic," Jeremy said.

"Yeah, I know the rural land here's a little flat," Sundown agreed. "There ain't nothin' here but hay bales, soil fields and a nursery every now an' then. Maybe when yer mama an' I have some vacation time, I'll take ya both to my home state of Texas, an' we can drive through New Mexico an' Arizona. It's a lot more beautiful down there."

"Wow!" Jeremy cried. "I'd… love to… visit… Arizona. The… Grand… Canyon!"

Sundown gave him a surprised look. "You mean you ain't never seen the Grand Canyon? My God, was your daddy always workin' when yer folks were married?"

Jeremy nodded. "It… seemed… as if… Dad… was… always… happy… when… he was… working. Mom… was… always… the one… to… take… me… on… trips. Besides… Empire… City,… she… won… a… trip… to… Hawaii. And… she'd… always… take me… with… her… on… business… trips,… because… she's… too… afraid… to… leave me… with… Dad. But… I've… never… seen the… Grand… Canyon."

"An' all those bedtime stories that were read to ya, all the times you were tucked in, all those lullabies that were sang to ya, I'll bet those were all yer mama, weren't they?" Jeremy nodded and Sundown groaned. "Damn that blasted father of yours. If I ever see him, I'll horsewhip him all the way to Dallas!"

They kept going for almost two hours before they reached the state border. Sundown stopped for gas at the first town he came to, then turned back to Empire City. On the way back, Sundown told Jeremy all about growing up in Texas, and his accomplishments as sheriff before joining the C.O.P.S. team. Jeremy thought it was interesting, and asked, "Why… would… Bulletproof… need a… sheriff? Isn't… that… supposed… to be a… high… rank… in… Texas… police?"

Sundown laughed and said, "Maybe so, son, but my job here is to keep the peace in the city from bein' disturbed. That's what a sheriff does for his town."

It was quarter to four in the afternoon when Sundown and Jeremy returned to Valerie's house. When the truck was turned off, Jeremy slowly unbuckled his seat belt. Sundown went to Jeremy's door, got him out, and the two walked to the door, arms around each other. When they saw Valerie, she immediately gave Sundown a soft kiss.

"Everything we saw was flat," he told her. "But Jeremy and I got along just fine. I reckon he already loves me."

"And that's what important," Valerie said. She smiled and lightly tipped his hat.

He followed her into the living room. "Uh, Valerie, would it be all right if I took you and Jeremy out fer dinner? That steak house on Cottonhall's always open on Sundays. It'll be my treat."

She smiled. "Sure thing, but as long as we order something small for Jeremy. His stomach a bit small for him to be eating so much."

"I understand. Then afterwards, the three of us can go back to the beach to watch the sunset, just like you an' me did on our first date. I reckon Jeremy would love that."

"I think he would, too. He's never really seen a sunset before. Tom was never really into sentimental stuff like that."

Sundown almost said, "Which probably forecasted what kind of husband an' father he was," but stopped himself. He didn't know how Valerie would react. Instead, he sat down on the loveseat. Valerie was searching her CD collection for a good country album, and found a disc of country love songs. She turned on the CD player, and they were soon getting intimate to some romantic banjo and guitar melodies.

* * *

A/N: Ok, I'm stopping here; this chapter is long enough. More C.O.P.S./Jeremy bonding next chapter! 


	14. More Father And Son Time

Chapter 14

"Are you sure you still want to do this, Jeremy?" Sheldon asked. "The last time you played with that cyber-mutt, you ended up in the hospital." It was half past one on Monday afternoon, and Bowzer was supposed to pick Jeremy up for their time together.

"Don't… worry,… Sheldon," Jeremy said. "Mom… said… Bowzer… would… watch… Blitz and… me… carefully. I think… he'll… behave… himself… this… time. We're… supposed… to… take… him… to the… dog… walking… trails… today."

"My only advice is to stay away from him when he sees other dogs," Drew said. "I hear those cyborg canines can be downright vicious when they sense other dogs in their territory."

"Oh, that's just nonsense," Karen said. "The robot canines were built to only take down the more dangerous criminals. Why would they want to harm an innocent dog?"

"Don't all breeds of dog attack one another?" Drew asked.

"They do not," Sheldon said. "You've been watching too much of that _When Animals Attack_ stuff on DVD. And that practice of letting dogs attack other dogs and animals was made illegal over a decade ago. You know that."

They continued to watch TV until they heard the doorbell. Jeremy sensed it was his time to go, and quickly stood up. He walked to the door just as Karen let Bowzer in. As Jeremy was holding him, Karen told the K-9 officer, "Now, don't let me hear anything about that beast ripping off any of Jeremy's limbs. Valerie and I don't want to go through that shit again."

"Auntie… Karen!" Jeremy cried. "Don't… talk… like… that… about… Blitz."

"Karen, I gave your sister my word," Bowzer promised. "Jeremy will get through this time with me unscathed." Jeremy hugged his aunt goodbye, then ran out to Bowzer's car. He saw Blitz staring out at him in the back window, and heard his bark from the inside. He could feel the weather was a bit cooler than it had been. Still, he wondered how Blitz could survive an hour alone in a hot vehicle.

They traveled south to the city limits. As they stopped at the first stop sign, Jeremy asked, "Bowzer,… how… come… you… never… take… Blitz… to… the… park?"

"Oh, no," Bowzer replied. "There are too many things for Blitz to sniff there – weeds, bread crumbs, trees and shrubs. These walks are meant for exercise. At the dog trails, there's nothing on the path to distract him, except other dogs' waste from the inconsiderates who don't clean up after themselves."

Half an hour later, they arrived at the trails. Blitz was barking rather loudly as they approached the entrance. Bowzer was looking at him through his rear-view mirror and said, "Yeah, you're all excited, aren't you?"

"Does… he… walk… on… a… leash?" Jeremy asked.

"Nah, he doesn't need one," Bowzer replied. "Dogs like Blitz are programmed to stay with their masters unless they're told to go sniff out something."

"How… is he… with… other… dogs? Drew… said… Blitz… could… attack… other… dogs… he can… see."

"That's not entirely true. He's only friendly to dogs that are friendly to him back. But if they start barking and growling…"

Something told Jeremy that he should be a little frightened. But Blitz suddenly stuck his head in the front, smiled and panted at Jeremy, and started licking him."

"See, Jeremy?" Bowzer assured him. "Be nice to Blitz, and he'll be nice to you."

They parked close to where the trail started. Jeremy got out and felt that it was a lot cooler than it had been lately. The sky looked barely blue with some clouds. He pointed this out and wondered, "Do… you… think… it's… going… to… rain… soon?"

"Possibly," Bowzer replied. "We'll just take a couple of runs around the trail, then head home, just in case."

But as he took Jeremy and Blitz around the trail the first time, the clouds began to build up more. Jeremy tried to ignore it as he looked at the grassy area. He asked, "Bowzer,… does… Blitz… like to… run… around… in the… grass?"

Bowzer chuckled and replied, "Not unless I throw a stick-like rod out for him, but I don't have one with me."

Jeremy decided to trot along ahead. Along the way, he picked up a stick on the ground. He called as loudly as he can for Blitz, and he ran towards him, panting and yelping happily. Jeremy threw the stick into the grass, and he and Bowzer watched as the dog grabbed it and brought it back.

"Amazing!" Bowzer exclaimed. "You didn't have my voice-activation device, and yet you made him come to a piece of wood!"

"I guess… he… can… also… sense… anything… he… can… play… fetch… with," Jeremy said.

They walked along, and up ahead, they saw a medium-sized pond with green and blue cattails, and pearl-colored stones lined around it. They watched a young man throw a ball into the pond for his yellow Labrador to fetch. With the stick in hand, it gave Jeremy an idea. He started to aim for the pond, but Bowzer quickly caught this, and put his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Jeremy, don't!" Bowzer insisted. "I mean it! If Blitz goes doggy-paddling into that pond, he'll rust and won't be able to move. I think you'd better put the stick down." Jeremy stared at Blitz's metal exterior and dropped the stick.

They started walking again when they noticed Labrador owner started to turn back. As they passed each other, Bowzer called at him, "Hey, you're going home without completing your lap around the trail?"

"I have to turn back and head home," the dog owner called. "You'd best start heading home, too. It looks like rain."

Bowzer looked up at the sky. It looked a whole lot grayer, and the clouds became blacker. "It doesn't look like it's going to rain yet, Jeremy," he said. "Maybe we can finish this run around before we can head home."

But they were just three-quarters of the way around when Jeremy started to feel a few drops. He looked at Bowzer and asked, "Uh,… did… you… feel… something?"

Bowzer looked up at the sky and held his hand out. He soon felt some rain, too, and said, "Oh, no, it's starting! Quick, Jeremy, we need to get Blitz out of here before it gets any worse!"

But as they were starting to leave, they saw Blitz run out ahead of them. Bowzer took Jeremy's hand, but found he couldn't run fast enough, so he picked him up like a mother cradling her sick baby. Sure enough, they got Blitz into the car by the time it started to really rain.

It wasn't a downpour, but it was raining hard enough for Blitz to rust if he didn't find shelter fast. Jeremy looked at him, sitting in the back seat. He saw he had only a few drops on him, but hoped he wouldn't rust from them. He looked through the windshield at the wipers working hard to keep Bowzer's vision clear. He asked, "Do… you… live in… an… apartment? How… far… do you… park… from… the… building?"

"I have a nice house on Naverson," Bowzer replied. "I'll park in the garage; we can go into the house from there. It's convenient for times like these so Blitz doesn't get wet."

They turned on Bowzer's street, and his house was six houses down on the left side of the street. He closed the garage door as soon as he parked, and let Jeremy and Blitz into his back hall

Jeremy looked at the clock in the kitchen. It was a little past quarter to three. Bowzer dried Blitz off, then went into his living room. He watched the rain watering the street.

"Is it… getting… worse?" Jeremy asked when he joined him.

"No," Bowzer answered, "and thank heavens. Hopefully, it won't get worse. This house has had pumps and weeping tiles for years, but I don't want to deal with any basement flooding. And I know your mother doesn't, either. You can't handle the hard clean-up work."

Jeremy looked around the living room. "Does… Blitz… have… any… dog… toys… here? What… kind of… indoor… games… does… he… play?"

"Oh, we mostly just practice doggy tricks when Blitz is stuck indoors." Bowzer stared down at the carpeting. "You should see Blitz when I tell him to roll over here. He won't stop until I order him to. He just loves this kind of carpet."

Jeremy knelt down and felt it. It felt all foamy and bumpy, like it was Styrofoam bubble wrap. "This… feels… nice. I've… never… seen… this… kind of… carpeting… before. Is it… one… of the… newer… kinds?"

"Jeremy, this carpeting was first introduced just last year," Bowzer told him. "And this one right here was the first of its kind ever bought and installed."

"You're… so… lucky."

Bowzer called for Blitz, and the dog came to him. "Roll over for me," he commanded, and Blitz panted happily. He started to roll all around the living room, and Jeremy laughed at his blissfulness.

"He's… as… happy… as a… pig… in… mud," he commented.

"He loves the way it feels on his body," Bowzer replied.

Blitz kept right on rolling until he got tired. He stopped in the middle of the carpet, lying on his belly, his four legs spread out to take a nap.

"That… looks… so… cute," Jeremy cooed. He went to Blitz, and knelt to watch him sleep up close. "Blitz… looks… so… precious… when… he's… asleep."

"Yeah, maybe when you and your mother decide to spend the night here, I'll have you sleep right here," Bowzer suggested. "This would be good for your back."

Jeremy sat on the couch and turned on the TV. A channel with cartoons was playing, but Bowzer quickly turned the set off.

"Nice try," he said. "We're not watching any TV so long as your mother wants me to spend time with you, understand? Come with me, we're going to the video arcade. Then I'll make dinner for us when we get home." He went to the kitchen to turn over a large half-thawed package of hamburger. He rummaged through his pantry and refrigerator for ingredients.

"What… about… Blitz?" Jeremy asked.

"He'll be just fine," Bowzer answered. "He'll sleep on that carpet for hours, or until I feed him. Now let's go. It's time to fill some of that bonding time we ultimately got robbed of." When he got all he needed to make dinner, he and Jeremy left the house again by themselves.

Two hours later, Bowzer and Jeremy came home feeling like they got closer. They were smiling and laughing, with their arms around each other. But deep down, Bowzer had some concerns about the weather. The rain still hadn't stopped.

"I hope that black weather changes by the time we finish dinner," he said. "I want to be able to take Blitz to the beach. I sometimes do that with him my evenings off."

"I… thought… Blitz… wasn't… supposed… to… touch… water," Jeremy replied.

"Oh, he won't go into the water," Bowzer said. "I have a metallic disc Frisbee that he likes to play with, and it rusts when it gets too wet, too. I throw it, and it goes long distances, and I like to run with Blitz as he catches them."

It was almost five o'clock, so Bowzer turned on the radio. A talk station, discussing sports at the moment, wrapping up their discussion about a pro quarterback's tragedy with his youngest child's kidnapping and murder. It was depressing, but Bowzer listened through it for the news and weather report. At five o'clock, it came on, so he told Jeremy, "I want you to stay quiet, so we'll know what we'll be doing tonight." Jeremy nodded and forced his lips together.

After five minutes, the weather was reported, stating, "Rain is expecting to continue through the evening, clearing in the overnight, with a low of fifty-four, but it's expected to resume tomorrow in the mid-morning. High tomorrow will be sixty-six. But don't have any worries, as the sun, heat and humidity are to return Wednesday with a high of ninety, and is expected to stay that way through the weekend."

"Nuts," Bowzer said as he turned off the radio. "Looks like Blitz can't go to the beach this time." He put the hamburger into a large frying pan and retrieved the newspaper while it was cooking. "Now, I was worried about this because of your outburst tendencies, but I was thinking maybe we should go see a movie."

"I'd… love… to," Jeremy said. "My… outbursts… only… happen… sometimes. I can… keep… quiet… for… two… hours… in a… movie… theater. Mom's… taken… me… to the… movies… three… times… before,… and I… was… well-behaved… every… time."

Bowzer smiled. "That's great to hear."

Jeremy went to the living room to relax while Bowzer was making dinner. Around ten minutes later, he joined him, entertainment section of the paper in hand.

Jeremy sat up and could smell the meal. "It… smells… beautiful," he said. "What… are… you… making?"

"Chili," he said. "Something very simple, since I heard you can't eat a lot."

"I think… chili… is… very… good. Thanks."

Bowzer opened the paper to the movies section. He looked for anything that might interest Jeremy. Most were action and drama films he thought the boy was too young for. There were adventure and animated movies projected to be blockbusters by all the media hype. Bowzer looked over the advertisement for a movie entitled _Big Toy Action Figures_. From what he could see, it was about a group of toy soldiers and cops, and mutated "good guys" in a boy's bedroom who try to save the city. He checked the showtimes. The first screening was at quarter to eight.

Bowzer showed it to Jeremy, and he immediately smiled. "I've… seen… commercials… for… that… on… TV," he said. "It… looks… awesome. Drew… and… Sheldon… want… to… take me… to see it."

"Well, guess what?" Bowzer replied. "I'm going to be the first to take you, then you can tell them all about it."

Bowzer stayed with Jeremy in the living room, to play with Blitz. He would only leave occasionally to check on the dinner. After twenty minutes, he called, "Dinner's on!" Jeremy went to a small table in the kitchen, and saw a bowl of hot tomato sauce with hamburger and beans. He was immediately indulged, and took a quick first bite, only to discover it was too hot. He yelped and began to blow on it.

"Oh, you need to let it stand for a few minutes, and let it warm up," Bowzer advised. He proceeded to get a bag of kibble and pour it into Blitz's bowl. He called for the dog, and Blitz came into the kitchen. He headed directly towards the dog food, and Jeremy watched in amazement as he ate it all up.

"I don't… believe… it," he said. "A… robot… dog… that… eats… real… dog… food?"

"Amazing, isn't it?" Bowzer commented. "Lucky for me, he's got parts inside his body that crushes the food until it actually dissolves. I never have to worry about cleaning up the backyard."

He rejoined Jeremy at the table, and tested his own small plate of chili. His tasted just warm enough. It prompted Jeremy to eat more of his, and his was just as warm.

"Mmmm!" he hummed. "This… is… wonderful. You're… such… a… good… cook."

"Hey, this is just a simple recipe for a one-course meal," Bowzer said. "If I intended to make you something big like a Thanksgiving meal, I'd have to give you just a little bit of everything." He dipped a slice of bread into his chili.

Jeremy decided to eat more slower, so he could be finished with Bowzer. It took them almost ten minutes to finish the first serving. Bowzer smiled and said, "This isn't so solid, kid. Do you think you can handle another bowl?"

"Maybe… in… about… fifteen… minutes," Jeremy answered. "How… long… would… it… take… to… digest?"

Bowzer shrugged. "About half an hour, who knows? I never think about that kind of stuff."

At ten minutes after six, he heated up another bowl for Jeremy anyway. It was hot, but still warm enough for Jeremy to eat comfortably. He managed to finish it in just over five minutes. As Bowzer was doing the dishes, he said, "We have to leave in an hour if we want to make the show."

Jeremy went to the living room window. It was still raining steadily. "So… what… do you… want… to do… until… then?" he asked. "We… can't… go… outside."

"So I have a lot of board games in the closet in my computer room," Bowzer said. "Second room on the right. Pick your favorite."

He searched through the closet for anything simple. He took out Sorry! Something that didn't require much reading aloud, and no difficult trivia questions. Bowzer smiled at his choice. "Perfect. We can play two games in an hour."

Jeremy picked red while Bowzer picked blue. It started off rather slow; they'd gotten through a quarter of the deck of cards by the time Jeremy was the first one to put a "man" out.

One time, when Jeremy already had two of his pieces on the board, he had a card that allowed him to start another one out. The next card he picked up, he was instructed to move a piece back four spaces. He got clever, and moved the piece he had out back into the "safety zone." On his next turn, he drew a "Sorry" card. He noticed one of Bowzer's pieces standing outside the red safety zone, and chose to send it back to the start. Bowzer groaned in absolute fury, because not only was he close to his safety zone, but it looked as if Jeremy was poised to send another piece home. Unfortunately, on his turn, Bowzer drew a "5" card. Jeremy would eventually end up winning the game, with one of Bowzer's pieces halfway around the board.

Feeling embarrassed, Bowzer said, "Uh, Jeremy, how about after we put this away, you and me can go get donuts and drinks before the show?"

"I'd… like… that," Jeremy replied. He put the cards off to the side without putting them in a pile, and let the dice and pieces slide from the board.

* * *

Valerie woke up Wednesday morning feeling all sweaty. "Goddamn," she muttered. "It was cool and rainy all day yesterday, now it's all hot and humid. I didn't know the temperature could reach seventy-five _this_ early in the morning." 

Jeremy had just finished his breakfast when she heard the doorbell. "Who could that be?" she asked herself. She glanced at his bag with his swimsuit and towel, and remembered that Highway was taking him to the waterslides today.

She answered the door to see Highway in a white shirt, unbuttoned, and some Bermuda shorts. He grinned and asked, "Is Jeremy ready?"

"Highway!" she cried, surprised. "I was just about to take him to Karen's. Uh, I thought you said you weren't going to come until ten." She was staring at his abdominals and belly button, not his face.

"I was, but then I thought, it opens at nine, so we'll get there now and be the first ones in," he said. He brought her face up to his. "I'd have to spend the whole day with him to get you, my love."

She sighed and replied, "That was so sweet. Of course you can have him for the whole day." She kissed him lightly and touched his face. "Just have him home by ten." She stepped away from Highway and let Jeremy through. As they walked down the walkway, she noticed a light blue Sedan parked behind her car.

"Highway, is that your car?" she asked. "Where's your motorcycle?"

"Oh, I don't usually ride it on my days off," Highway told her. "And I sure wasn't going to let a kid as small as Jeremy ride on the back of it with me. You'd kill me."

She watched as he put Jeremy in his back seat, then drove the car out. "Then you let me ride on your bike to impress me," she muttered to herself. "Sure worked, though."

The Rippin' Wild Water Park was only five miles south of Empire City. Through the early morning rush hour traffic, it took about fifty minutes to get there. Jeremy spent this time staring out the window. In the middle of heavy traffic at a stop sign, Highway asked him, "So, are you glad for this hot weather today? It's perfect to go water-sliding."

"Yeah!" Jeremy answered. "Mom… told… me… yesterday… what you… wanted… to do… with… me. She… said… the… weather… reports… kept… predicting… this… sudden… big… change. I'm… really… excited." Then, he had some disturbing thoughts. "Highway!"

"Yeah, Jeremy?" Highway responded.

"Do… you… think… Big… Boss… and his… gang… will… try to…"

"Track us down?" Highway finished. "Hopefully not. I heard they put up a fuss when they were barred from getting into the Empire City Park last weekend. Prison guards said they would keep all eyes on them. But still, I want you to stick close to me at all times today. This is a big place we're going to, and I don't want you getting lost."

Jeremy kept staring out his window until they reached the outskirts of the city. When all he could see were small convenience stores, gas stations and flat land, he looked straight ahead through the windshield, searching for a twisted-up bunch of descending blue pipes. He didn't know which side of the road they were on.

A few minutes later, they passed an amusement park for small children called Lollyland. About a mile away was the Rippin' Wild Water Park sign. Jeremy started to bounce in his seat, squealing giddily.

"Wow, you're sounding like a happy pig there," Highway commented. "Have you ever been here before?"

"Only… a few… times," Jeremy answered. "Mom… and I… would… spend… one… weekend… every… summer… here. My… cousins… and I… would… sometimes… spend… Saturday… here."

There weren't very many vehicles in the parking lot, so Highway parked closest to the entrance. There was also a very small line; he estimated about ten people. He took Jeremy with one hand, and retrieved day passes from his shorts pocket. Jeremy smiled and asked, "Where… did… you… get… day… passes?"

"One of my friends won six of them in a radio contest," Highway said. "But he has a wife and two kids, see? So, when I told him about your Mom, and that I wanted to take you here, he gave these other two to me."

They waited only a few minutes before being admitted and getting stamped. When they entered and got changed, they saw everyone settling down on the grass area. Nobody was in the hot tub, and the pathways to the slides were deserted, as was the deck of the pool they led to.

Highway checked his waterproof watch. "It's only quarter after nine," he said. "I guess the lifeguards don't go on duty until ten." He found a spot on the grass and they sat.

They waited for almost forty minutes, in which Jeremy moved his head around about five times. Highway saw this the first time, and thought, _Valerie told me about this, said he'll stop by himself._

Around the third time, Highway noticed two young brothers, aged twelve and eight, sitting next to them. Their parents weren't present. The younger boy was staring at Jeremy, pointing and laughing, yelling, "Look at the kid moving his head around like that! What a retard!" The older boy immediately swatted his head and started lecturing.

Highway smiled and thought, _Good move, big kid._ He glared at the younger boy, relieved that he didn't have to smack him himself.

Highway checked his watch again. Five minutes to ten. He noticed some lifeguards climbing up sit on their chairs, and some kids running up to the slides, some taking inner tubes. "That's our cue, Jeremy," he said. "Let's slide."

They read the signs at the bottom of a path. There was a legend key for each slide; S for small splash, M for medium, L for large. Above it, it stated that the River Rafter and the Shotgun required tubes. Highway took a tube that carried two and rode those slides first – twice. Afterwards, Jeremy went back to the sign. "Do… you… think… I can… handle… a… larger… slide?" he asked.

"I don't know," Highway answered. "We'll have to ask them about height requirements." At this time, he saw more people coming in to slide. "What say we go on some small slides, then break?" Jeremy nodded.

By quarter to eleven, they noticed the lines for all the waterslides were pretty long. So Highway took Jeremy into the hot tub. As Jeremy got onto the bottom step, he felt the water come up to his neck. Highway picked him up and took him to an unoccupied spot, placing him on his lap.

They were sitting in between two women with toddlers. One boy was splashing Jeremy, but Highway stopped it. The boy's mother smiled and, "That looks like a nice boy. Is he yours?"

"Actually, he belongs to my girlfriend, Valerie Boston," Highway replied.

"Valerie Boston?" the woman repeated. "I think I remember my sister telling me about her. Does she work at that Lancer and Sussex agency?"

"Uh, yeah, she does. Why?"

"Because my sister also works there." The woman took a deep breath and explained, "Yesterday, Donna and I were talking over coffee, and she was in tears. She said your little girlfriend is managing her and three other people in an infomercial project for candies and chocolates being sold through a cystic fibrosis foundation. She told me Valerie was being quite the bitch to her and two others."

"Really?" Highway said.

"Yes," the woman told him. "Apparently, Donna thinks this woman lets that kid there get away with quite a bit. She's one of those strict disciplinarian types who's beating-happy whenever she feels the need. Anyway, after she and the other two criticized her parenting techniques, Valerie started screaming at them. Can you believe she refuses to beat that boy for whatever reason? Talk about a mom who doesn't like being told how to raise her kids! Of course, this last team member, Elise, defended Valerie – something about Shaken Baby Syndrome, and he can't learn anything about consequences." She stared at Jeremy. "Um, he _does_ have Shaken Baby Syndrome, does he?"

"He does."

"Yeah, I thought so." She sipped from a bottle of iced tea. "She said this 'bad mother' rumor was started by two other strict parents who work with her, and some people believe it."

"Well, she may not believe in spanking, especially not to a kid like this," Highway explained, "but I can assure you Valerie Boston is a wonderful mother. I mean, she's obviously doing something right; this kid wouldn't hurt a fly. Physical pain is why she divorced her husband to begin with. So maybe you should tell your sister to back off."

"Yeah, he does look like a sweetheart, doesn't he," the woman said. "But there's more. There's this other rumor that Valerie has romantic relationships with at least four members of that C.O.P.S. team. Now that's being quite the skank, isn't it?" She looked closer at Highway. "Uh, you wouldn't happen to be one of those guys, would you?"

Wordlessly, Highway got up and took Jeremy to another part of the hot tub.

After a few more minutes, they got out, and after a washroom break, Highway spotted the bumper boats course downhill, about thirty yards away from the slides. He brought Jeremy up so he could have a look. He smiled and offered, "How would you like to go on the bumper boats now?"

"That… looks… awesome!" Jeremy replied. "Let's… go!"

They joined a few other people waiting for boats. Jeremy was watching how the people drive them, tilting his head back and forth. Highway chuckled at this and said, "Sorry, kiddo, but I think I should be driving. You'd have a little trouble steering." Jeremy nodded slowly in acceptance.

They only had to wait a few minutes before the current group had to bring the boats in. All of them had two seats, but Highway and Jeremy chose as blue one. As they were putting on life jackets, Jeremy asked, "Highway,… do… you… have… any… police… boats… where… you… work?"

Highway chuckled and replied, "I'm afraid not, son. We don't have a diving expert on our C.O.P.S. team."

"You… should… get one," Jeremy advised as they got in and settled. "You… could… get… a call… about… a… drowning."

"We'll see what Bulletproof has to say about it."

They were given a signal to start up the boats, and Highway took full control driving his and Jeremy's. He didn't go very fast – that was against the rules, but Jeremy's head did move from side to side with every turn. One time, they collided with three boats at once, splashing them. The others just laughed and turned away. Highway slammed on the gas brake and drove off, bumping straight into a yellow boat."

"Whoa, overdid a bit there," Highway said. He put his boat into reverse. "Better slow down." Just then, he backed into another one. He looked to see if there was enough room to make a U-turn.

They spent the rest of the time just riding around aimlessly. Luckily, they were close to the deck when time was up. Highway got out first, then took Jeremy's hand to help him out.

"Wow," Jeremy cried. "That… was… so… much… fun." He started jumping up and down in giddy happiness."

When they returned to the slides, Jeremy headed directly towards the inner tubes. "I want… to see… how… many… times… I can… ride… the… River… Rafter… and… Shotgun… before… lunch."

"Are you sure you just want to concentrate on those?" Highway asked. "There are a couple of more medium slides that don't require inner tubes." He saw two more slides with the M symbol, Blood Rush and Liquid Ferrari. He put the inner tube away and said, "We'll try Blood Rush first." He took Jeremy uphill and got into the line leading to the start of the Blood Rush slide.

When their turns came, Highway went first, and asked the overseer, "Is it okay if I wait for Jeremy in the pool below? He's a little short, and I don't think he can swim all that well." After talking briefly with a lifeguard below, he said, "If you're sure he can't swim all that well, you can get him in the water."

"Thanks." Highway pushed himself downward, and the water rushed him through twists, turns and tunnels at around seventy miles per hour.

When the overseer saw Highway was halfway through, he gave Jeremy permission to pass. He pushed himself forward and quickly held his nose tightly as he began to slide. He was sliding down a little faster than Highway.

At the bottom of the slide, Jeremy splashed into the pool, his nose still held. Quickly, Highway swam to where he fell, juts as the boy brought his head up.

Highway brought Jeremy out of the water before climbing out himself. He took him uphill again, and they discovered two lines on the stairs. Believing the left line led to the Liquid Ferrari, they got into that one. That line was longer; the Liquid Ferrari was twenty feet away from the Blood Rush. It was the same slide as the Blood Rush, only longer, and even involved a long "loop-de-loop" turn. And just like the Blood Rush, Highway went before Jeremy, and swam to get him at the bottom.

By the time they went down both slides a second time, it was after eleven-thirty. They decided to go down the River Rafter again before taking another break. They saw a little pinball and video arcade across from them, and Highway suggested, "I should have some change. What say you and me play some video games before we get some lunch."

"Sure… thing," Jeremy replied.

They took turns playing Pac-Man 2010, and played a virtual car race game together. There was a "cops n' robbers" type of virtual game that interested Highway, complete with plastic shooting guns. He had to place Jeremy on a stool-like chair so he could see the screen. They played the game at least three times before they decided to have lunch. On the way there, Jeremy said, "I'll… just… have a… small… hamburger,… fries… and… soda. Root… beer."

Highway took Jeremy's order at the concession stand, then ordered a triple hamburger with chili fries and a Coke for himself. While they were eating, he said to Jeremy, "After this, why don't you and me ride the bumper cars before we do any more sliding?"

Jeremy looked confused. "They… have… bumper… cars… here?" he asked. "I don't… remember… this… place… having… bumper… cars. I… thought… they… had… those… at… Lollyland."

"Oh, but those ones are for little kids." Highway took a bite from his burger. "They just built a bigger one here for bigger people." He pointed in the direction of the Waterfall Drop. "It's just behind that big slide."

"Cool," Jeremy said. "But… doesn't… that… look… out… of… place."

"Maybe, but I guess they couldn't afford an underwater-themed mini-golf course."

When both of them finished eating, they went to the bumper cars only to see the last group depart. Highway and Jeremy, along with several others in line, entered, and they chose a green car. After a ten-minute ride, it was back to sliding. Jeremy noticed the bottoms of the "large splash" slides, the Explosion, the Lava Flow, and the Super Snake. "I'm… going… to try… those… ones… next," he said.

"Whoa, small fry," Highway objected. "You sure that's a good idea. You might be a little small for those."

Jeremy laughed. "I… rode… those… slides… for the… first… time… last… year. I went… tandem… each… time. The… first… time,… I rode… the… Lava… with… Mom,… the… Explosion… with… Cousin… Sheldon,… and the… Snake… with… Cousin… Sarah."

"Well, I suppose I could ask the lifeguards." Highway went to the pool and asked about the "large" slides. "Jeremy's around three-foot-two," he explained. "I know those big ones would be a bit much to handle by himself. He says he did it before."

The lifeguard contacted the overseers of those slides. After a few moments, he told them, "It's perfectly fine. One of them claims he remembers the kid from last year. Go on up."

Highway and Jeremy went past the "medium" slides, and climbed two more flights of steps to get to the "large" ones. On the final flight they noted a sign for the "large" slides: _For your safety, inner tubes are NOT permitted on slides with this symbol._

Jeremy chose the Lava Flow first. While he and Highway stood in line, he noticed the overseer, a young man in his mid-twenties in a blue tank top, shorts, and dark sunglasses, staring at him and smiling. When their turn came, the overseer said to Jeremy, "Yeah, you look very familiar. I can see _you_ haven't grown very much, have you." He chuckled. "Yeah, you were right here with your Mom last time." He looked at Highway. "Where is she, anyway?"

"She had to work today," Highway answered. "She wants me to spend some quality time with him, and I thought this would be perfect." He and Jeremy sat down together on the slide, Jeremy on his lap. As they slid, Jeremy held his nose. The first half consisted of tunnels, then the second half was mostly "half-pipe," then another tunnel in the final twenty yards. When they landed in the pool, Highway put Jeremy on his back and swam out. Smiling, he decided to put the boy on his shoulders, walking like that until they got to the steps again.

The Explosion slide was next to the Lava Flow, and divided into thirds, the first and last consisting of tunnel. As they passed the sign on the way to the third slide, Jeremy said, "Wow,… so… many… tunnels. And the… Super… Snake… is… all… tunnels."

"Now I see why inner tubes aren't allowed," Highway said.

And from that moment, all they did together was slide – with a few small breaks in the hot tub and one bumper boat ride. By the time they left at six, they'd been down every slide in the park at least ten times.

* * *

It was after eight o'clock by the time Highway and Jeremy returned. They found Valerie in the dining room with Elise, discussing a project as Elise typed on a laptop. It sounded like they wanted to start over. However, when Valerie looked at them, she immediately started to cry. Highway rushed up to hold her. 

"Oh, Highway, it was horrible today!" she sobbed. "Donna Grayson was bitching at me all morning about Jeremy! She was calling him a spoiled brat, and said he'd be better if I 'beat the shit out of him occasionally.' HER words! Then Michael Hammer and Joe DiTornio started in on me this afternoon. Michael called me a 'punk parent,' and Joe said I was a worthless mother, then they all started yelling at me like Donna did. They don't understand Jeremy's brain injuries! What, they expect him to know good behavior from bad the first time? They think Jeremy is just like any of THEIR children? That's BULLSHIT! I know they're strict, and they all believe in physical punishment to discipline, but I assume that none of THEIR children were shaken as babies!"

Highway shushed her to calm her. "It's okay," he said. "Have you ever thought of explaining Shaken Baby Syndrome to them?"

"What's the point? It's not like _they'd_ listen."

Highway looked at Elise. She said, "It's been like this all week, even since we first started. I'm sure Jeremy knows about it. We were supposed to start filming today, but with all the fighting and harassment that's been going on, we barely got anything done. I'm writing a memo to the bosses about this right now. I hope to hell that Donna, Michael and Joe get the same discipline _they_ give in their homes."

Valerie turned to her. "Elise, maybe you and I should continue doing the project by ourselves," she suggested. "We've got enough people to film for a half-hour infomercial."

Then Highway had an idea of his own. "Valerie, I'm going to ask Bulletproof when I have my next weekend off. We can take Jeremy to Rippin' Wild together. It'll be just the three of us. You need it, and I'm sure you'll love it."

"I'd love to," she said. "God, Highway, if I knew it was going to be like this today, I would've never turned down your date offer!"

* * *

A/N: And if you think Valerie had a bad day that time, let me warn you – it gets worse next chapter See you then. :D 


	15. Lies, Crimes And Consequences

**Author's Note: **Here's Chapter Fifteen for you. Now, before you ask, no, I didn't bring up the spanking debate in this chapter, as the office scenes may suggest. But there is some controversial decision making in ties to the subject. If you insist on leaving an opinion in your review (and a review is what I want to see here,) make sure it's about the boss's decision regarding Valerie's treatment. No comments glorifying spanking, especially in the case of severely brain-damaged Jeremy, or I may get as testy as Valerie, depending on my mood. Enjoy the chapter, anyway.

* * *

Chapter 15

"Elise, I am shocked," Mr. Sussex said the next morning after reading the memo about Valerie. "What in the hell would possess these people to say such slanderous things about one of our best project managers?"

"My guess is it's the way these people raise their children at home," Elise answered. "Mind you, Brian's an obedient kid about ninety-five percent of the time, and Longarm and I never felt the need to hit him all that much. But Jeremy is much different, and it's a fact that children like him are much harder to discipline. Valerie understands this, and that's why she feels she must be patient with him. But some others don't, and they feel that sharp-tongued 'advice' will help her improve her skills. But personally, I don't think Jeremy's behavior is anyone's business but hers."

"How long has this been going on?" Mr. Sussex asked. "Has this started this week? I know that when I gave you all this assignment on Monday, Donna, Michael and Joe didn't seem to have any objections working with Valerie."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Mr. Sussex," Elise said. "Didn't you notice how uncomfortable they looked when you told us we'd be working with her? As early as the end of that day, we overheard Michael and Joe talking loudly from inside the men's room. Then they came out, glaring at her and whispering. I went to Donna about this, and you know what she said to me? She said, 'How can she possibly be an effective boss? She's not even an effective mother.'

"They didn't confront her about their feelings until yesterday morning. I know Valerie accused them of lying, and said that they don't know Jeremy. Well they _don't_, for God's sake! Now, Jeremy is a wonderful boy; you should see how well he gets along with Brian. Cindy can attest this with Tyler as well. But you know these obsessively strict disciplinarians; they believe there's no such thing as a perfect little angel. I think that memo explains the rest.

"I can't tell when this whole rumor started. I remember others giving her dirty looks as early as last week, but I thought that had something to do with one of her romances. That Teresa can be quite the gossip."

Mr. Sussex called for Valerie. She looked like she hadn't had a good sleep the night before, and she'd been crying. He said, "You don't look very good, Valerie. Does that confirm everything in this memo to be true?"

Valerie nodded rapidly. "I'd tell you which is the worst," she said, "but they all seem to be very hostile. Just because Donna boasts about slapping her fourteen-year-old daughter and eleven-year-old son, and getting in their faces every hour of every damn day; just because Michael and his wife like to get pushy with _their_ two daughters, don't believe they should be trusted for anything, and don't let them out at night even for school functions; just because Joe thinks he can get through to his children by screaming and swatting at them constantly, it doesn't give _them_ the right to dictate what I should do with Jeremy! At least he still loves and respects me. I'd like to hear them say that about their kids!"

"Do you tell them what to do with their kids?" Mr. Sussex asked. "Do you tell them to adopt your parenting methods?"

"Certainly not! You know I don't discuss personal stuff during work hours! Probably more lies!"

"The point is," Elise said, "it took us all day Tuesday to interview CF-affected families to be in this thing. If I didn't help Valerie, we probably wouldn't have enough endorsers for the goodies. Donna, Michael and Joe didn't contribute much, and all they did was criticize the leader here." She nodded to Valerie. "Because of them, this is going much slower than expected."

Mr. Sussex shook his head. "I find it disgusting that filming isn't being done on schedule," he said, "because a group of know-it-all parents decided to bully one of my prized employees about her own parenting skills when it's none of their business. I'm thanking God that they're expecting this at the end of the month with all the editing!" He pressed the intercom button and said, "Teresa, call Donna Grayson, Michael Hammer and Joe DiTorino into my office, please!"

A few minutes later, the door opened, and in walked the instigators. Donna Grayson was forty-one, with long brunette hair halfway down her back, wearing a dress of red flowers. Michael Hammer was in his mid-forties with fudge-colored hair, glasses and a thick mustache, wearing a dark gray suit and navy tie. Joe DiTorino was younger, around late thirties, with jet-black hair and a much thinner mustache. He was a little pudgy underneath his blue shirt and white khakis.

Mr. Sussex gave the memo to Donna. He said, "Donna, would you please explain the concept of Elise O'Malley's memo to me?"

She read the memo and looked just as disgusted as her employer. "Well," she said, "this is becoming very typical of Elise, coming to Valerie's defense like this. Mr. Sussex, on behalf of Michael and Joe, I'd like to say that Valerie has been very shrewish throughout this whole project. Ever since we started working, she's been hostile, getting into our faces a lot, screaming at us like the bratty kids we weren't."

"Donna, that's because you and your little hooligans decided to pick fights with me the whole goddamn time about the way I raise Jeremy!" Valerie spat. "All to the point where you made me cry, I might add! And all because of a stupid little rumor that someone started, that you shouldn't have believed!"

"It was started by Linda Fortense, from the legal department!" Joe interjected. "And we _should_ have believed it! Especially since that kid of yours probably does act out a lot!"

"That's another thing, sir," Donna added. "How can we expect Valerie to act as a credible project manager when she doesn't have her personal affairs in order? We know her ten-year-old has lifelong effects Shaken Baby Syndrome – my God, it's all she ever talks about when she's not working – but she uses that as an excuse to let him walk all over her."

_Oh, God, this is my marriage to Tom all over again!_, she thought bitterly. She took a breath to keep calm, and explained, "Look, my son has outbursts, but that's only on occasion. He can't sit still for long periods of time, but that can't be helped, I know! Do you want to know how often I had to take him to the hospital after my ex-husband shook him so violently and threw him around? The staff started calling me by my first name after three months. Jeremy's brain damage became so severe, the doctors declared he'd never learn the simple concept of right from wrong."

"And you've come to accept that!" Michael guessed incredulously. "You are such a wimp, Valerie. If that were my kid, my wife and I would _not_ take it. We would smack him around whenever he acted up."

"Smacking and belting Jeremy around whenever he acted up and brought home bad grades was Tom's major department," Valerie replied. "And that was when he was sober. You don't want to know what he'd do when he was usually drunk! He'd even do this when Jeremy was behaving himself. And look what I have to deal with now. Jeremy can walk, but isn't coordinated enough to do any chores beyond picking things up from the floor. He can't understand very many rules, no matter how clearly I speak. He needs care twenty-four hours a day, which is why my stay-at-home sister insisted I live in her neighborhood. I even have to put in a special school for the handicapped. You think he can survive regular school, where he can get teased easily? He can't!" She was close to crying.

"Oh, Valerie, you are so conscious, yet you are so naïve," Joe said. "A good swatting, maybe even two or three, isn't going to do him any harm. Young kids know a lot about manipulating their parents. I should know, I have six of my own. Whenever they talk back to me or their mother, or try to be too independent–"

"Well, I won't have to worry about that!" Valerie lamented. "Jeremy can't even talk at a normal rate; you think he'd have enough strength for backtalk? I don't think so! And he can't even defend himself against other people, so I don't have to worry about him bullying!"

Mr. Sussex took notes during the confrontation. He read them over, then looked directly at Michael, Donna and Joe. "Regardless of whether or not you approve of shaking a baby," he began, "your treatment towards Valerie on this project was inexcusable. I met Jeremy when she brought him here to meet with our client from Dempsey Foods. I think he's a sweet boy, despite some behavioral problems totally beyond his control. If I thought otherwise, I would've never accepted Valerie's print ad for the Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs cereal, and neither would Peter Dempsey. I think Valerie is doing some things right with him, and you three should be ashamed of yourselves for judging her just because her parenting styles don't match yours."

They didn't look apologetic to her, but it was too late anyway. Mr. Sussex continued, "Donna, Michael and Joe, you three are off the project. Valerie, you'll assist Elise with the production. Joe, I'll assign Matt to take over direction. Meanwhile, I'm taking this to the foundation. Hopefully, I won't have to reschedule the final meeting. You are all dismissed."

Valerie didn't walk out feeling victorious, but she did hope the harassment was all over. She didn't care if there was more gossip; she'd try to ignore it. But nobody would tell her she was a bad mother when she knew she wasn't. Still, her ex-team members confronted her and Elise in the hallway.

"Thanks a lot, bitch!" Joe barked. "You just cost us all raises! You're going to answer to my wife and family if they go hungry because of this!"

"And I'm a single mother just like you!" Donna barked louder. "If I can't support my kids and lose my home because of you, I'll make you wish you never came to Empire City!"

Michael just shook his head and asked, "Elise, what's gotten into you? You used to be so tough and dynamic. You were never this defensive before Valerie came."

They stopped outside Valerie's office. "Cry me a fucking river!" Elise sneered. "You should've thought about those raises when you were making Valerie miserable this week. It's your own damn fault!"

"Look, I really don't care if you don't let your children play with my son," Valerie said. She went into her office for her laptop, writing tablet and pens. "You have no right to say that Jeremy is wild and bad when you've never even met him! And you have no right to point at me just because he may be a little harder to tame than most children! I'll have you know he's been through enough!" She walked out quickly, headed for the main doors.

"Wait up, Valerie!" Elise called. "We have to wait for Matt! What if he doesn't know where the Breath For Life headquarters are?"

* * *

"And cut!" Matt called. He checked his watch and became a little surprised. "That's lunch!" 

They were in the office of Lawrence Hyatt, president of the Breath For Life Foundation. They had spent three hours shooting him and his friend, chairman Jeff Canada, talking about the candy they were giving away for funds. Valerie and Elise looked up at the clock above the bulletin board. It was one o'clock.

"Yipes, we worked through our lunch hour!" Valerie declared. "Ugh, that's what you get when you wait until 10 A.M. to start filming. People, let's take an hour for lunch!" She hoped Mr. Sussex wouldn't mind. After all, they could always go until seven or eight.

They were surprised to meet Longarm and Mace in the front hall. Elise and Valerie kissed their men, and Valerie said, "Fancy for you guys to come here. Let me guess, you were busting perps through your lunch hour."

"Sort of," Mace replied. "Longarm and I were together all mornin', and it's been crazy. Big Boss and his goons got out again!"

Valerie rolled her eyes. "So what else is new?"

"You remember those audio tapes they distributed to the schools last month?" Mace asked. "This time, they raided the TV station to hypnotize the regular folks, too. We got this call from Whitney Morgan, statin' the Big Boss an' Dr. Badvibes were chantin' all these weird mantras on cameras, tellin' whoever watched to worship and steal for 'em. Then right away, in come the calls from businesses all over the city, reportin' people walkin' around like zombies, takin' whatever they could get their hands on. Supermarkets addin' that people are walkin' out with shoppin' baskets in hand. Jesus, we were jumpin' from one crime spree to another."

Elise exhaled with relief. "Thank God I'm not a stay-at-home mother," she said. "If I have to see that crap while watching soap operas and game shows, I'd rather work."

But Valerie immediately became worried about her family, specifically Jeremy. She excused herself, took out her cell phone and dialed Karen's house. She got no answer, so she called her mother. When she heard Polly answer, she said, "Mom, it's Valerie. Listen, have you heard from Karen at all today?"

"She said that Drew and Sheldon had to work all day today, so I'm assuming it's just her and Jeremy at the house," Polly answered. "Is she not at home now? Maybe they went shopping."

"I have to know if Jeremy or anyone else has been watching television this morning." She explained about the Big Boss' latest crime plan, and Polly became alert.

"You mean that strange broadcast?" she asked. "It came on during _The Price Is Right_. I was on the phone with my friend, Jeanne, at the moment, so I had the television muted. However, as soon as I returned to the set, I saw the Big Boss and his nerdy-looking sidekick on. Feeling something bad might happen if I watched and listened at the same time, I started flipping channels with it still muted. I saw it was on every channel, so I turned it off to be safe."

Valerie put her mother on hold and relayed to Longarm and Mace, "It was on every channel." She returned to Polly. "Mom, keep the set off, and if Karen and Jeremy come over to see you, tell him he's not allowed to watch any television while he's there. I don't know if he would or not, but I don't want him to be hypnotized to commit a crime. And maybe let Rhonda in on this, too. I'm worried about Caleb and the girls."

"I was thinking about them, so I called the house to check," Polly said. "I talked to Nicole. She was putting laundry in the dryer while Caleb was watching television. She overheard the broadcast and realized what it was, so she ran over to turn off the TV without looking at it. Well, Caleb was already in a trance, so she grabbed him before he could leave the house, and watered him down with the kitchen sink hose. He snapped out of it after a few slaps. She added that Sarah was out at her summer job."

"Thank God!" Valerie sighed. "But I'm still concerned about Jeremy. Do you have Karen's cell number?"

Polly gave it to her, but by the time she hung up, she noticed Longarm's car arrive at Family Choices. Valerie was even more surprised. "Oh, and you're taking us to lunch?" she said. "Now I know why you guys showed up. Thanks, you're so sweet." She leaned forward to kiss Mace.

"Hey, we were going to tell you ladies, until you started chatting on your phone, Valerie," Longarm said. "Mace wanted to meet everyone else over at the food court at St. Charles Place, but I suggested we find you and take you out somewhere nice."

"That was very thoughtful," Elise replied, kissing him.

When they were seated, Valerie immediately excused herself to the women's room. There, she dialed Karen's cell number and waited through three rings. Then, her sister's voice. "Hello?"

"Karen?" she said. "Karen, it's Valerie. Listen, what did you do this morning? Did you watch any television together or something?"

"Not really," Karen answered. "Soon after my boys left, I caught Jeremy doing some channel surfing. I turned it off and told him, 'We're not going to be watching any TV today.' So I took him to my computer, and he helped me pick out some bedroom furniture. I'm designing a woman's apartment, and he was attracted to this beautiful pink bed ensemble, and candles that smelled like apples and strawberries. Then, we went to cash some checks, and spent the rest of the morning at the mall looking for the perfect birthday gift for you. We have some ideas, and I found a better movie than that _Alice Show Murders_ shit. Oh, and I have to take him to the doctor this afternoon. Why, is there something I should know about?"

Valerie explained the C.O.P.S.' latest case, and Karen looked stunned. She explained, "Well, when we were at the Panama Lane Mall, we passed an electronics store playing that broadcast on the TV's. The volume must've been turned down because everyone in there looked normal and casual. But I swear, when Jeremy saw the Big Boss and Dr. Badvibes' faces on the screens, he just flipped out and took off running. Luckily, I caught him, and you should've seen him. It was as if he was in a haunted house. He wanted to know what all those 'ugly, creepy things' were. I told him, and he just froze up, like he remembered them from somewhere."

"So I gather he's not going to be watching any more television until this blows over."

"He just may not. I don't think he'd be hypnotized easily. I think those bastards look a little too scary for him."

"Well, thank God Jeremy's going to stay safe. Thanks, Karen." She hung up and rushed back to her table.

"Sorry, everyone," she said. "This case you all are working prompted me to check up on Jeremy. Karen said that the sight of Big Boss frightens him. He'd either run away and hide in the bathroom, or babble on about how scary it is."

"Nice to know he'll never be affected," Longarm said. "And thank God we left Brian with my father. Dad said he'd take him to the lake today."

"Well, if this topic is exhausted, let's eat," Elise suggested. They went to get their plates, and select what foods to eat.

As Valerie ate, she wondered what would cause Jeremy to be so scared of the Big Boss. She thought back to when she was held hostage at his office, when Jeremy looked desperately thankful to reunite with her, when Hardtop protected them both from being harmed. Perhaps Jeremy looked over at Big Boss and was too frightened to react. Surely this could happen if Buttons McBoomBoom and Turbo Tu-Tone frightened him outside a petting zoo. She'd ask him this when she picked him up.

* * *

Meanwhile, back at the agency, Mr. Sussex confronted Linda about Elise's memo. He said, "Linda, I heard from several people that you were the one responsible for starting a rumor about Valerie Boston's parenting. He opened the top drawer and retrieved the memo he'd kept in the "employee incident" files. "Read it over, and tell me if you have anything to say for yourself." 

Linda read and shook her head, not looking fazed. "I'm sorry, sir," she said, "but in defense of Donna, Michael and Joe, I have to say that the allegations against Valerie are true."

"And this justifies Valerie nearly having a personal breakdown in the middle of work for a client?" Mr. Sussex said gruffly. "Because of this, I had to dismiss those three and have Matt from video help her and Elise. One of our policies is you don't question a project manager's authority during an assignment. Furthermore, scheduled filming time on this thirty-minute infomercial was wasted yesterday, because these three decided to spend it criticizing her over something so stupidly personal as proper parenting techniques. Thank goodness the Breath For Life Foundation said nothing about it, or else I would've really been angry!"

"Well, Mr. Sussex," Linda replied, "it is my personal opinion that Valerie Boston is not 'Mother of the Year' material. As you're aware, around half the staff at this agency are parents, including myself, Donna, Michael and Joe. As tough, conservative and no-nonsensy businesspeople, we all tend to exercise the same authority with all our children. Just because Valerie has one child with special needs, it doesn't mean she should be any different."

"I disagree, Linda," he said. "If only you saw this kid with his types of injuries, you'd see just how different Valerie's situation is."

She thought about it for a few moments. "All right, maybe disciplining a kid like hers would take a little more time than normal," she agreed. "But we all know that kids like this one are more mischievous than normal. My God, you can't take your eyes off them for a second. Mr. Sussex, I think she'd gain a little more respect with her team members if she would 'crack the whip' with her son more often. There's absolutely no reason why he should be disturbing people with his outbursts, fidgeting around in his seat, act so disobedient when told to do something, and the like. Behaviors like these should earn him a few swats on the rear and a timeout. In fact, I think he should be spanked regularly. Maybe even a slap across the head or face, if necessary. Perhaps we wouldn't be questioning her authority as manager if she exercised some of that in her home. Brain injuries should not be an excuse for her to be so passive."

Now Mr. Sussex was in a worse mood. "Linda, do you even know how ignorant that sounded? You and some others really need to educate yourselves on Shaken Baby Syndrome, understand how fragile young Jeremy's condition is from being shaken so often, and learn the consequences of the resulting brain damage. Both Mr. Lancer and I are convinced that Jeremy can't understand basic rules unless he sees the consequences. And Cindy and Elise can tell you that Jeremy is a sweet, non-violent child who's easy to get along with. Just give him a chance, and you'll see how wrong you are. Do you have a child around his age?"

"I have a ten-year-old daughter," Linda answered, "and I've told her she's not allowed to play with Jeremy because of this. Cindy and Elise are just covering up for Valerie if they're encouraging their sons to be friends with him. And I also find it unbelievable that he's so popular with those C.O.P.S., as they say. How do they put up with his rambunctiousness?"

Mr. Sussex became even more alert when she mentioned the C.O.P.S. "That's another thing I want to discuss with you," he said. "I've also been overhearing rumors being spread about Valerie's alleged romances with some members of Bulletproof Vess' special team of police specialists. This has been going on for a month now, and I don't see why Valerie should be subjected to this. I know Teresa's started the rumors about Mace and Hardtop, but lately, a lot of people having also been talking about her alleged affair with yet another member."

"Oh, you mean that one that they're still talking about?" Linda supplied. "That was Stan Hide, also known as Barricade. Yeah, he lives next door to me. About a week ago Sunday, I saw them in his backyard Jacuzzi with Jeremy in tow, and I could've sworn he and Valerie were getting intimate. It was just too juicy to keep to myself. I had to tell Teresa, and I also relayed it to a few other people."

"Yes, I saw the looks Valerie's been getting about it. Looks that I don't think she deserves." Mr. Sussex sipped his coffee, then pressed the intercom button and called, "Teresa, may I see you in my office, please?"

A few minutes later, Teresa walked in to see an empty chair. She sat down without being ordered, Mr. Sussex looking evil at her.

"Teresa, I was just talking with Linda about some recent rumors about Valerie that have been plaguing this agency," he told her.

"If this is about Valerie's date at Barricade's house," Teresa said in defense, "I can assure you that Linda called me to tell about it. Sure, I was thinking, 'Oh my God, she's with another one?' but I wasn't in that kind of mood. I only told Michelle and Nancy."

"Yes, she already told me," Mr. Sussex said. "And although you come off as some love and sex expert, _you_ really must curb your gossiping. It's such hurtful drivel, especially when it's about one of our best employees here. But I want to talk about a worse rumor that Linda practically confessed to starting." He gave her Elise's memo. While she was reading, he said, "As you can see, Teresa, some of our staff members who are parents have been questioning Valerie's methods with her son."

"You mean Jeremy?" Teresa asked. "Yeah, she brought him in when Dempsey came for her print ad. What a sweet kid he is. He kind of reminds me of that little boy from_ Jerry Maguire_."

"Yes, well, what do _you_ think of the way Valerie is raising him?"

"Well, she must be doing something right if she has a happy, well-adjusted kid, despite her sluttish behavior. But I want you to know that I _never_ tell other people what to do and not do with their children. Especially since I don't have any children myself. I may be chatty about a lot of things, but parenting is one thing I don't talk about."

"That's good." Mr. Sussex opened his file drawer of successful print ads. He took out the Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs ad from Valerie's file. "I want you two to look at the child in both pictures. That's Jeremy. Now, if I thought of him as an out-of-control bratty kid who acts out of spite all the time, I would've rejected that ad, as would our client, and Jeremy would've never been made spokeschild for that new cereal."

"Okay, now what was Valerie thinking here?" Linda objected. "Was she being clever here, or was she just giving Jeremy special treatment for being different? Couldn't she have auditioned some children? I wouldn't be whoring out _my_ kids like this." She handed it back.

"Well, I'm sorry if you feel that way, Linda," Mr. Sussex said, "but in my whole advertising career, I have never seen an idea quite like this. I know a lot of parents in this field are afraid to even consider this idea, because it'd make them look like pushy stage parents. But I wish I had thought about this with my own children."

"And what would be next for young Jeremy? Spokeskid for an array of fruit juices? Sporting equipment? Sorry, sir, but I see this as a form of emotional abuse."

"Really? Because I see this as a parent-child bonding experience that should be encouraged, depending on the assignment. As for Jeremy, if the Children's Hospital gets wind of this, he can serve as spokeschild for Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness. I'll send a memo to Valerie later." He coughed a little. "As for these rumors, Linda, I must insist that they stop right now. You have seen how untrue and damaging they are. And Teresa, you need to keep quiet about anything you see and hear regarding Valerie and those C.O.P.S. She has had a good reputation with this company, and she doesn't need it tainted with malicious gossip. I'll take this to Mr. Lancer, and we can work out a solution together, but if this escalates, I might have to do something drastic with firing."

"We understand, sir," Linda and Teresa said together.

"Thank you," he replied. "You are dismissed."

As they walked down the hall, Linda said gravely, "I still think Valerie needs to stop being so lenient with that kid. If she thinks spanking is going to make him more stressed and defiant… what's wrong with that woman? She needs some parenting classes."

"I'm not going to discuss it myself," Teresa said. "But I am going to do an Google search on Shaken Baby Syndrome. It sounds interesting. Besides, I should be prepared just in case Mr. Right turns out to be Mr. Wrong, and I end up with that type of kid."

* * *

Valerie, Elise and Matt finished their first day of filming at seven-thirty that evening. They'd just wrapped up filming the conclusion of the infomercial with Lawrence Hyatt, Jeff Canada and their wives. They'd also done an interview with a single mother of a cystic fibrosis patient, who was a chocolate lover, and especially endorsed the candies. Tomorrow, they had to go out and feed the treats to people on the streets, and get their opinions, as well as interview parents affected by cystic fibrosis about how this is benefiting their cause. 

When Valerie picked Jeremy up, Karen greeted her with, "Valerie, you must've had a long day at work. Would you like me to fix you up some dinner? It's homemade breaded chicken fingers and mashed potatoes, Mom's recipes."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Valerie said. "Breath For Life surprised the whole crew with take-out from the Marigold Room. But I would like to take a serving with me for lunch tomorrow. We have to take the candies around Empire City Park and get people's reactions to them. I tried them; they're very good." She took out a bag and gave some chocolate, mint and fruit candies to Karen, Bart and the boys.

"Oh, God, Valerie," Karen said when she bit into a chocolate truffle. "Damn, but these are so good. Consider your lunch prepared."

"If they're selling candy this good as a fundraiser," Bart said, "they're going to make a killing, and a cure will be coming sooner than we expect."

"Awesome, Aunt Valerie!" Sheldon cried. "These chocolate and grape ones are the best. Thanks!"

"Oh, and you never told me," Karen began, "how'd everything go this morning? I take it you got some filming done today. Are these personal endorsements all you have left?"

"And we have to interview CF-ridden families about this," Valerie added. "That's tomorrow afternoon. Some who researched this believe this will be successful and beneficial, too. Fortunately, with those bratty parents off this thing, we managed to get all the filming we had to do at the foundation headquarters done in seven hours." She told about Elise's memo, the argument she had with Donna, Michael and Joe, and Mr. Sussex's thoughts about Jeremy.

She decided to ask Jeremy about the Big Boss at home. When they got there, she sat him on the loveseat, and told about the broadcast she learned from Longarm and Mace. She said, "Auntie Karen told me you had some fears when you saw the Big Boss on TV, and that you ran all over the mall screaming."

"That's… because… Big… Boss… and… Dr. Badvibes… frightened… me," Jeremy said. "Remember… when… Big Boss… kidnapped… you… and… held… you… at his… headquarters? When… Blackbelt… took… me… to… see you,… I… got… a… good… look… at… Big… Boss… and… his… goons. His… followers… are… too… ugly… and… mean… for me… to… even… approach. And… Big Boss… looked… like… a… cross… between… a hog,… a… gorilla… and a… rhinoceros. He's… like… the… ogre… in that… Billy… Goats… Gruff… story,… except… he'd… be… too… fat… to fit… under… the… bridge."

He took his mother's hand. "Please,… Mom. I… think… Big… Boss… and his… crew… would… hurt… me… like… Dad did."

She stopped him before he could say any more. "I think they'd hurt me, too," she said. "And they're too ugly for _me_ to love as well. You know I don't want _them_, do you? That's why I'm determined to stay with the C.O.P.S. I know one of them will be a better husband to me, and a better father to you. That's all I want for both of us, is the best. You understand?" Jeremy nodded.

She presented her bag of candy and said, "How would you like some of this delicious candy? Tell me what you think of it. They're selling it for charity, you know."

Jeremy selected a truffle, a mint and a fruit piece. He ate them all very quickly, and said, "These… are… great. I… think… they'll… be a… success. May… I… have… more,… please?"

She gave him another mint and fruit candy. "No more chocolate, Jeremy," she insisted. "I need to put you to bed soon."

After Valerie tucked Jeremy in, she went to check her e-mail. The same Spam, a message from Rhonda asking what she wanted to do for her birthday, an offer that said buy five romance novels and get one free. Valerie glanced at that with interest. Romance books would be a good thing for her leisure time, perhaps if she had nothing to do on a Saturday night, or if she had a long air flight. She kept that one and Rhonda's, and deleted all the junk mail. Then, she noticed a message from Sundown. It said, _A romantic summer vacation_ in the Subject line. She clicked on it and read it.

_Hello, darling._

_Bulletproof just informed me that I have paid vacation time coming, from August 9th to the 23rd. I'm planning to leave Empire City for that whole time. The first week, I'll be treading back to my old roots in the heart of Texas. I owe my family a visit, anyway. Then I'll move on and spend another week in hot, sunny Arizona. I'm hoping you have the same time coming, so we can make it a romantic trip. Jeremy told me he's never seen the Grand Canyon, and I think this first trip would be wonderful for him. I also want to give him the opportunity to learn about the Alamo while in Texas. _

_I only thought of this because I love you, I love Jeremy, and I want the three of us to be the family that both you and me have long dreamed of. Don't let this chance slip by you. Call me._

_All my love and tenderness_

_Sundown_

Valerie looked both happy and concerned at the same time. A vacation down south – or anywhere else – would be very good for her, considering the rumors and lies she's endured around work. But she'd only been working in Empire City for six weeks now. It would be too soon for her to take a vacation. Neither Mr. Lancer nor Mr. Sussex would grant her a paid vacation. Even with a salaried manager like her, an unauthorized leisure trip would come out of the paycheck.

She went to the kitchen to call Sundown.

When she saw his image on the screen, she smiled and said, "Hello, Sundown. I got your e-mail. I'm so glad you got your holidays."

"Me too," he replied. "Empire City can be a crazy hellhole when the crime and corruption git to be too much. Us coppers have been workin' quite hard, ya know."

"Well, if you want to ask if I can come with you," Valerie said, "I don't think I can . As much as I'd love to, I've only been here for six weeks. And boy, would I really love to. You wouldn't believe what I've been through this week!"

"Please don't burden me wit yer problems," Sundown told her. "If those rashin' co-workers of yours are gittin' all riled up about yer boy, I just want you to know that I think he's wonderful, so beautiful. I reckon he'll look just so cute in that advertisement when it hits the magazines soon."

Valerie sighed. "That's so sweet of you, Sundown, but how did you know what's been happening at work? Did Mace tell you? Or Longarm?"

"Nope, it took me back to my olden days. Remember when we were downstairs when you had Mace and me over that one night, an' you asked us to tell us about our lives before Empire City? I told you about some of those disturbance calls I got while workin' the Texas beat. All takin' place in the run-down homes an' the dirty neighborhoods filled with people who like to git their kicks from crack pipes an' Jack Daniels bottles. Disgustin' an' shameful how the west has become these days, where the so-called 'citizens' like to act like white trash. You still wouldn't believe how these people treat their lil' ones, shakin' an' beatin' the stuffin' out of 'em. I had to arrest 'em on the spot fer domestic abuse. I've seen children six years old wit the same problems as Jeremy, and these parents still ain't got no tolerance."

"Yeah, that was Tom, all right. I can't believe you still think about it."

"It's somethin' I've been thinkin' about from time to time, ever since I first met Jeremy."

Valerie yawned a bit. "Well, I can ask Mr. Lancer and Mr. Sussex tomorrow when I finish shooting this infomercial I'm working on. I mean, I've worked hard enough to deserve one, but even I'd agree with them that it'd be too soon right now. Why, at that time, I would be working there for only two months. I'm sure that they'll be able to give me some time in the spring. Now spring break would be nice, having to relive my college days at forty. Or maybe next summer."

"Wait!" Sundown interrupted. "You said 'forty!' Your sister, Karen, she came by our headquarters with Jeremy a couple of days ago, to tell us of yer birthday next week. "I've been makin' a list of gift ideas fer ya."

"Thank you," Valerie replied. "Getting back to your vacation, I'd love to send Jeremy with you. I'm sure he'd love to see the Grand Canyon, too. You mentioned that ad that Jeremy's in. We have to fly on business soon to get his picture on boxes, and they're planning commercials, too. Once this comes up, I just can't stop talking about it. I'm so excited about this. But we should be back just before you have to go."

Sundown accepted that. "Well, that'll be nice. That last time we had was so touchin', I think him an' me should do it again."

"Well, again, I'm sorry if I won't be able to join you, but I can sure make up for it tomorrow night. What do you say we go out to dinner at an old country steakhouse. I think that should be up your alley. Then we can rent a couple of movies, maybe find some romantic western stuff, and I'll even let you spend the night."

Sundown looked shocked. "Valerie!" he cried. "This here's the first time a lady's set up a date for _me_. That's very unlike them back where I come from."

"Hey, this is a way of saying I'm sorry."

He thought it over, then, "All right. Seein' that, maybe I should spend as much time wit you as I can before I go. So I'll see ya tomorrow night after my shift. Good night, Valerie. I love you."

"I love you, too, Sundown. Good night to you, too." Then they hung up.

Valerie went to the living room to watch TV. There was a western drama on, but it looked more like one of those steamy prime time soap operas. The good-looking cowboy character was getting hit on and groped by one of those innocent damsels in a bedroom scene. She didn't concentrate on the show; instead, she was wondering how romantic Sundown would be in her bedroom.

* * *

**A/N:** This could only be a cliffie if you claimed that last sentence got you hot, and you were wondering what Sundown would be like in bed. Stay tuned next chapter, and don't forget to review. 


	16. Sundown And Valerie Get Laid

**Author's Note:** Hi, it's me with Chapter Sixteen, ready for reading and reviewing. WARNING: This chapter contain descriptive sex scenes, but I swear, I only went so far as M-rated content allowed me to go. No cock-sucking, nipple-sucking, cumming, fisting, or any other graphic shit like that. To those who see this, I beg you not to report me for violating the content regulations, because I worked very hard not to here. Still, if sex scenes bother you so much, then DO NOT READ THIS! I'm not looking to have my account shut down on this site. Thanks! To the rest of you, enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 16

"I had a short meeting with Mr. Lancer and Mr. Sussex today about your offer," Valerie said to Sundown. "They said that, although I've been doing good work with them, it's too soon for me to take a vacation. I'm so sorry."

They were awaiting their dinners at the El Paso Steak and Burger House, not the same place they'd been to before. Sundown sighed, but seemed to understand. "I was worried 'bout this," he said. "Last night, I sat up in bed and said to m'self, 'She's only been in town fer a couple of months. Ya think she'll really git her summer holidays this year? Did _you_ git yer holidays immediately three months after ya joined C.O.P.S.? No, you didn't. So why would ya expect her to git the go-ahead?'"

"But don't worry," she replied, "If you're willing to wait until sometime next June, they'll be able to release me then."

He sat right up, looking at her in shock. "June?" he repeated. "You ain't gonna keep workin' that hard for the next year, are ya? I reckon you kept havin' other successes in yer time here. And Lord knows how hard you were workin' before ya came, wit yer divorce an' all. At the rate yer goin', you'll collapse before Christmas."

She laughed. "Oh, come on, Sundown," she said. "Advertising isn't that stressful when you've been working as long as I have. Why, the only stress I had so far were fights with other co-workers about my personal life – which I refuse to talk about, so don't even bring that up." She drank some of her Earl Grey. "See, it takes more than just loving your job to keep the stress low. You also have to keep your personal and career lives from intertwining. That's why I hate discussing personal matters on company time – plus, I also think it's rude to gossip. And when I was having my martial problems back in Indiana, I kept them bottled up during the day while I was doing my work. Only during lunch and coffee breaks did I open that bottle to people."

"Wow, that's some strength," Sundown said. "Y'know, if ya married me, or anyone else on my team, you could be a role model fer police marriages in this city. A lot of coppers are known to bring their work into their home lives, but that don't apply to any of us. Longarm's the only married one of us, but he's always known to leave his work at the office when he goes home. He an' Elise have always said they could use another couple to help counsel officers an' their spouses on how to keep their marriages tickin'"

"They actually said that?" Valerie buried her face into her hands, laughing. When she brought her head up, "Well, I'm no marriage counselor, but I am willing to do anything to help. Elise is my friend, after all, and it'd be nice to work with her outside the agency." She stared at Sundown lovingly as she thought, _Which means you'll have to make a decision quickly, girl._

Later, they were sitting in her recreation room, watching some movies they had rented, the DVD player plugged into that TV. They had just finished watching _The Wooden T-Heart_, a drama about a married woman found guilty of adultery in the Wild West after she has a child with a member of an outlaw gang. As Valerie watched, she was both cringing and enjoying it. Sundown looked at her every so often, confused as to what she really thought of it.

"I don't get it, Sundown," Valerie said. "What is it about a Wild West outlaw that women find so attractive? They have to be pretty naïve, because women did not do very many drugs back in those days."

"Their looks, my darlin'," Sundown answered. "Once a lady can find a man who's as handsome as a devil in black, she thinks wit her heart, not her head."

"Was there somethin' wrong wit the movie, Valerie?" he asked at the end credits. "You were givin' off mixed signals 'bout it."

"You told me in the store this was a parody of _The Scarlet Letter_, right?" she said. "I was nervous about this one at first, because that took me back to high school, and I had to read that awful book in my senior year. Too bad I don't have the talent to write a novel suitable for English class, only product pitches."

"Well, there are some parallels between that an' _Scarlet Letter_." He sipped some of his cinnamon margarita. "But don't ya think the differences make this better?"

"Very much so. Uh, Sundown, are you sure that was how women were punished for adultery in the Wild West? I don't remember anything like that from my History classes."

"Nothin' like that really happened back in those days. You know that. Back then, ladies were really expected to be ladies, an' stay faithful to the men they wed. That was just a 'what if' thing. I reckon that if a woman laid down with another man back then, she'd wear just the plain heart around her neck. But in that case, that 'T' stood fer treachery."

"It was interesting, nonetheless."

He stood up and held both her hands. "Valerie," he said, "now I want you to be honest with me. If you were my bride, an' a dashin' outlaw came to town to loot an' shoot an' frighten ev'ryone, an' he tried desperately to take ya, if he wanted you to go wit him, would ya do it? Would you leave me fer him?"

She touched his tanned cheek lightly, staring at his face, thinking of how not even a movie star's face would make her leave someone like him. "Why, Sundown," she breathed, "how could you even ask such a thing? You know I'd never go for a bad guy, no matter how handsome he looked. I learned that when I got divorced. And that's why I resolved to never love any of the crooks, no matter how much they try to tempt me."

She placed her hands upon his shoulders, and kissed his mouth down to his neck. "But then again, I don't think any bad guy could look as handsome as you." He smiled, then suddenly grabbed her waist and dipped her as if they were tango dancing.

"Sundown!" she cried. "Wow, you're more dashing than any outlaw I've ever seen!"

"That's because good prevails over bad in both crime-fightin' an' romance." He brought her back up. "Ev'ry time. At least, that's how it oughta be." With that, he kissed her sensually, as if he was ready to take her. But Valerie stopped it quickly. She knew she wasn't ready, at least not at this hour of the evening.

"Hold on there, Rhett," she said. "I was thinking maybe we can watch the other movies we got." She broke from him, took the movie out, put in the next one from the stack, _Deputy Wildheart_. Sundown grinned when he saw the next selection.

"Ah, good choice," he said. "That's supposed to be real sexy."

As the movie started up, Sundown proceeded to go behind the mini-bar. He unbuttoned the top three buttons on his shirt, retrieved a bartender's guide, and asked, "How 'bout somethin' exotic fer the lady?"

Valerie laughed, remembering how Sundown told her he worked as a bartender before becoming a deputy for Texas police. "Trying to relive your college days?" she asked. "I'll just have a chocolate rum liqueur, please?" She sat on a stool near him, and pressed the play button on the DVD remote. He made up her order, then poured some Sprite with whiskey for himself.

This was one movie that interested them both. Sundown and Valerie paid extra close attention to the hearty number of lovemaking scenes. Around halfway through, Valerie started to lose count of how many women were being taken. On occasion, she would look over at him to see him studying the love scene hard, looking very frisky at her. She'd look surprised, but she'd laugh about it afterwards.

"Is this supposed to be a hint, your look?" she asked one time. She touched his left forearm. "I think you look sexy enough tending to my bar. The extras aren't necessary."

"I know," he said. "Maybe it's just the movie, but I'm feelin' a lil' bit like Deputy Wildheart right now, all jacked up wit sexual desire. Oh, Valerie, but yer lookin' so fresh tonight. What is it 'bout you, yer hair? Yer clothes? Yer walk?" He proceeded to slide his hand across her arm, but she took it off.

"Cool it, cowboy!" she insisted. "I want to watch a movie here. Keep your hormones to yourself until it's over, all right?"

Sundown's grin got wider. "Oh, so ya wanna, don't ya?"

Valerie shushed him. "Could you fix me up a plain Cucumber, please? I always liked that neat color." Sundown smiled as he searched for the recipe in the guide index. Minutes later, he handed her a glass of green liquid that looked more aquamarine to her. She sipped and let out a quiet, satisfying hum. She never noticed him leering at her. He thought it sounded sexual.

When the movie was over, Valerie swiveled in her stool to face Sundown. She batted her eyes shamelessly, touched his forearm again, and said, "Damn, but I'll bet you were one of the sexiest bartenders in all of Texas. No, _the_ sexiest!"

"Hey, it's like I told ya," he replied, "I had hordes of ladies flock to the bar to get a drink from me. I was makin' spicy tequilas, dry martinis and mint juleps from the time I was eighteen, 'til I got heavy in cop college. An' here I am twenty years later, still the talented, charmin' drink maker. Such a shame that I don't have a mini-bar in my apartment, then we could do this when I'm hostin' you."

She moved her hand up his arm. "That'd be sweet of you."

He left the bar to put away the DVD player. As he was unplugging, Valerie told him, "I don't have any beer in the fridge, but if you want, I can bring up a bottle of rum, and we can have rum and cola." Then she changed her mind quickly. "Actually, I don't have any cola in the fridge, but I do have that cherry cola, and some orange soda, and green apple soda." She went to retrieve a bottle of vodka. "How about we add this to it?"

Sundown grinned like a Cheshire cat. "Bring it up."

In the living room, she set the bottle on the coffee table, then watched him plug the player back in. When he got up, she said, "I just put the soda in the fridge before you came. If you'd like to go get it for me, please? You can also get two plastic cups from the cupboards above the coffee maker and microwave." He smiled as he went to the kitchen.

He came out with a bottle in each hand, then went back for the last one and cups. Valerie poured the vodka, filling the cup halfway. She poured cherry cola in her cup and asked, "Do you want to watch the last movie we rented?"

"It's already after midnight," Sundown answered. "We'd be dead like logs by the time it's over." He pulled her close in attempt to be convincing. "Look, if I gotta serve another day shift tomorrow, I can come back after work to watch it wit ya."

She nodded. "That's a deal. Would you like orange or green apple? You men probably wouldn't go for this cherry stuff."

"Orange, please. Y'know, most people don't really drink soda pop wit vodka. Back in Texas, we drank our vodka wit orange juice."

She opened the orange soda bottle. "Shall I put on some music? I should have an old collaboration of classic country duets."

"Nah, I kinda like this quiet atmosphere. I reckon it adds to the romantic settin'." Sundown took a drink and held Valerie close to him. He kissed the back of her head.

They sat there for almost half an hour, drinking and making love. With the drinks they had downstairs, by the time they emptied the vodka bottle, they were looking very drunk, probably more drunk than Valerie and Highway had been. Sundown put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Valerie, you think you looked beautiful before? Now that I'm good an' drunk, you're lookin' as hot as a saloon hooker." He was slurring his words and sounding belligerent.

"Oh, stop it," she said. She was slurring, too, but she sounded rather quiet.

But he wouldn't. He pushed her down on the sofa, positioned himself on his hands and knees above her, and looked at her like a wild jungle cat would his prey. Like a willing submissive, she grabbed his arms and pulled him down onto her. Their lips were pressed against each other as they were tossing around. When they rolled, they immediately fell to the carpet, barely missing the coffee table.

Sundown and Valerie stumbled to get up, and she led him to her bedroom. She locked her door, and in the darkness, he walked to her bed and sat. Feeling lustrous, she strutted over him, and sat down straddling on his lap. Immediately, she ripped his shirt open, slid it off, and let her fingertips explore his chest hair. He didn't know if it was the feeling of his bare flesh, or the passion he felt for her, but he reached around her back for the button snaps on her dress. He made them come undone all at once, and slid the dress off.

"Valerie," he moaned ecstatically. "I always wanted to know what it was 'bout ya that made ya so damn special! It's that touch! Your beautiful flesh, your fingers all over me! Oh, Valerie, I… Valerie, what in hell are ya doin'? Don't stop! I…" His voice trailed as he felt his socks come off, then his jeans.

"Sundown!" Valerie moaned. "Sundown, I had to! You know I wouldn't let a strapping cowboy like you bang me in anything more than your underpants." She slid her hands up his legs, and into his underwear to feel his thighs. "Oh, are those bikini briefs? Oh, I _love_ those! Those make hunks look sexier." She started to crawl over him, and pulled back the quilt and bedsheets aggressively.

"Valerie," Sundown groaned. "Where'd ya go, ya sexy woman? Why ain't ya got yer pretty hands all over me?" He crawled along the bed until he could feel her legs. He touched his way along her body until he could feel her face.

"Sundown, what took so long?" she asked. "I waited for you for three whole minutes."

Instead of answering her, Sundown tried to be angry and said, "Why did you leave, Valerie? You know I'm the type of man who gets desperate when I ain't got the beautiful touch I need!" He covered the both of them with the bed linens, and his voice started to get louder with every sentence he spoke. "I love you! I need you! I must possess you!" Then he clutched his arms and pressed his chest against hers. "Don't ya ever take yer hands off me again!"

Their bodies forced together, Sundown and Valerie rolled all over the bed in their passion. He pinned her against the mattress, and she screamed, feeling a bit scared. Moments later, he was on his knees again, and put her hands back upon his chest. Suddenly, she was feeling good again, and she willingly rubbed him until she could feel his nipples. She loved the feel, and began to stroke them repeatedly.

"Oh, yeah," he said to her. "Yeah, Valerie, you love the rugged, beefcake feel of my chest. You want–" Then, he could feels her hands sliding down to his stomach, all the fingers going into his belly button except her thumbs. He snickered at every poke and said afterwards, "Valerie, what are you doin'? Damn, that tickles!"

"And I'll come back for it later," she said. She continued to rub south when she felt his underwear again, and pulled it down to his knees.

"Valerie!" he yelled. "_Valerie!_ Oh, Valerie, why'd ya do that? Why do ya wanna git me naked? What kinda man d'ya think I _am?_"

She reached around to his back and brought him back down. "The kind of sexy lawman who deserves to be naked." She brought her feet to his knees and took his underwear off with her toes. In turn, he took her panties off.

"Oh, but I feel so free, don't you?" he asked. "Don't ya?" Before she answered, he quickly tossed the linens back over them, put his arms around her neck, kissed her roughly. He rubbed the back of her head until his fingers went into her hair.

"Oh, Valerie, yer hair is so beautiful, so silky," he said. "Oh, but I wish all the ladies in Texas were as pretty as you. Ain't none of them would even compare." When his hands returned to her body, he found them placed on her cleavage. "And I ain't never felt ample bosoms quite like yours. I know it ain't gentlemanlike of me, but I just can't help this. I touch beauty like this, and I just wanna turn into some rough redneck." He brought his mouth to his hands, removed them from her chest, and started kissing it, working above her nipples. He knew better than to handle a woman like that.

"So you like making rough love?" Valerie assumed as Sundown ran his index finger down her bustline. She brought his face back up to hers. "I like it rough with the right man." She rolled him around so she would be on top of him, and kissed him in a passion that kept heir lips together for a long time. She was rubbing him again, on his arms, his shoulders, and any place where he was muscular. He loved her touch, but felt controlling once more, so he flipped her over so he was on top. He slid his arms around her back and started kissing her once again.

When Sundown awoke the next morning, he discovered he was alone. He stared at the purple walls and bedroom furniture, and even the purple bed linens.

"What in Lord Almighty is with this color?" he asked himself. "Ain't no way the bouquet I gave her is gonna look good in _this_ room. Maybe if it were sunset orange with some red, yellow and brown in between. Valerie would love it." He looked at the dresser, noticed Barricade's blue bouquet on top, and became horrified.

"What in tarnations?…" he began. "Those ain't the flowers I gave her!" He grabbed his underwear and jeans and put them on. "No, it ain't true. It's me Valerie loves, not Barricade!" He stared coldly at the bouquet. "If she loved Barricade enough to put his flowers here, then why in hell did she lay down wit _me_?" He grabbed the vase and went to find Valerie.

She was in the kitchen, looking through cookbooks for a Texas omelet recipe. She could hear loud footsteps approaching, and looked toward the entrance. Sundown was glaring at her, Barricade's bouquet held out in his right hand.

"I reckon these were put in the wrong room," he said.

Valerie immediately became shocked. She put Barricade's bouquet in her bedroom because she was deeply in love with him when she got them. But she couldn't tell Sundown. He already saw this as more intense competition; that would only make it worse. She stuttered, but he already left to do a decorative switch.

* * *

Sundown saw Barricade parking as he arrived at C.O.P.S. headquarters later that morning. He felt passionate to start a fight, but decided against it. Assaulting another team member could cause Bulletproof to dismiss him. Instead, he walked up to him, grabbed his arm, and dragged him inside to the men's room. 

"Sundown, what in hell?" Barricade asked. "What's this for? You're not usually this angry when you come to work."

"You listen here, hombre!" Sundown said angrily. "I spent last night with Valerie. I've been in her bedroom, when we had the most ramblin' sex anyone could ever have. Guess what I saw when I woke up? Those blue silk roses that _you_ gave her!"

"Well, I've never really seen Valerie's room," Barricade replied. "But she put my bouquet in there? That's wonderful. Now I guess we know who she thinks about more!" He stepped slowly towards Sundown. "All I have to tell you is 'in your face.'"

"Just so ya know, Barricade," Sundown replied, "they ain't there no more. I put my yellow bouquet in there, and yours is on the livin' room end table where they damn well belong! You'll see, you an ev'ryone else, Valerie will be in my possession." He turned to walk out, an incensed Barricade following him.

"Just one second, Sundown!" Barricade blasted. "Your _possession_? What, you think of Valerie as your personal property? Is that how a man treats a woman back where you come from?"

"Not when he's the only one she wants. But when he's in competition fer her hand with a group of other men, he'll do whatever it takes to claim her."

"Well, you just remember something, cowboy! Being overly jealous, acting like you own a woman, and making her feel like no one else deserves her will only drive her away."

"I ain't nothin' like that! You knew since we met her at the picnic that I was madly in love wit her. And I don't treat her like my property. Who d'ya think I am, that Big Boss? One of those crooks? I'll have you know that I'm plannin' to take Jeremy wit me on my vacation."

Barricade stopped and turned to Sundown. "Oh, is that so?"

"Yep! He ain't never seen the Grand Canyon, and I'm takin' him there next month, after a week-long stint in my home state. I'd like to know what you're doin' fer yer holidays."

Suddenly, they heard Mace ask, "Who's takin' who to the Grand Canyon?"

They looked at him, and Barricade answered, "Sundown here has just informed me that he's taking Jeremy down south on his summer trip. But that's not the worst part. He was at Valerie's last night, and he took her. I mean, they literally did it."

Mace looked horrified at Sundown. "You didn't!"

"I did, and she loved it!" Sundown bragged. "At least, she told me that after I felt better, having put _that yellow bouquet I gave her in her bedroom!_"

"WHAT?" Mace yelled. He shoved Sundown a little. "Whaddya mean, _your_ bouquet in _her_ bedroom! That should be _my_ bouquet! _My_ purple silk flowers should be the last thing she sees at night, and the first thing she sees in the mornin'!"

"Don't tell me _you're_ thinking of Valerie as your property, too, Mace!" Barricade scowled. "Look, if you're trying to win her love, the little 'ownership act' isn't going to work."

Suddenly, they heard Mainframe call to them. "You guys," she said, "the computer's been reporting more thefts all over the city! ECTV's just informed that Big Boss and his gang are at it with their hypnotic broadcast again. And here you are, arguing over a woman? I could hear you, and I can't believe it! Everyone else already left! You need to get out there – now!"

"She's right," Barricade said. "We'll discuss this later. Right now, it's crime-fighting time." They looked at the locations of the crimes being committed downtown, then hurried their way out.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Karen's house, she was equally unimpressed as Valerie told of her date with Sundown. 

"You're unbelievable!" she said in both shock and disgust. "It's one thing if you and your date get buzzed over two fancy alcohol drinks and a whole bottle of vodka – and by the way, it was stupid of you to drink a whole bottle in one sitting – but it's quite another if you end up having a fuckfest because of it! Didn't you tell me you were being gossiped about at work because of this? What if anyone saw you? Boy, it's a good thing Jeremy slept over here last night."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "He would've been in bed sleeping at that time, anyway," she said. "You know he's a deep sleeper. He wouldn't have been able to hear us. And the bedroom curtains were closed. Who could've possibly watched us?"

"I still would've thought twice before doing something so crazy." Karen sipped her coffee.

"Oh, come on, I'm sure you and Bart did the same things when the boys were conceived. And we were discreet about it."

"Valerie, he and I took individual cold showers."

"And that's supposed to arouse sexual feelings?" Karen looked dumbfounded, but Valerie said, "I guess it could work if you didn't catch pneumonia first." She finished her tea. "Anyway, when I woke up the next morning, I noticed Sundown was sleeping so deeply – oh, but he looked so sexy – so after a shower, I went to the kitchen to try and cook a special breakfast fit for a sheriff. I was already searching through a third cookbook when he surprisingly stormed in with Barricade's flowers. You should've seen how pissed he was. I wanted to tell him that I thought it gave a nice touch to the room, but he didn't believe me. The next thing I knew, he left, and when I went to the dining room, I saw Barricade's bouquet where Sundown's was. He put his in my room. Have you seen it now? It looks terrible. That arrangement really sticks out."

Karen tried to remember the bouquets Valerie showed her. "Sundown – his is the yellow one, right?" Valerie nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Yellow and purple definitely do not go well together."

"I'll tell him this when he sees me tonight. We're going to watch the last movie we rented. He'll try to convince me to transform my room into some Western look that wouldn't suit me at all."

"You know, Bart's been trying to convince me to put up Wild Western wallpaper, and turn our room into a cowboy's paradise for quite some time now. He's into that kind of thing, too. I think he'd get along real well with Sundown if you choose to marry him."

"But that wouldn't look good for you, either, would it?"

"No, but that's men for you. Always thinking their ideas are better, and convincing you to go along with them, no matter how ridiculous you think they are. Especially–"

Valerie immediately stopped her. "Don't even go there, Karen! Do not say the name of a certain ex-husband for whom that statement _especially_ rings true! Sundown may be level-headed and competitive, but he's enough of a gentleman to not call me a lazy parent."

"That's true. I mean, if he's kind enough to take Jeremy on a bonding trip."

"Speaking of bonding trips, I should expect an e-mail from the others telling about their vacation plans. With our upcoming four-day trip to L.A., I expect Jeremy will have a summer of pure closeness. He desperately needs it after all the shit he's been through all these years."

"I agree. It'll keep him from questioning the trust of men." She took a raspberry muffin from the platter, and gave Valerie blueberry. "Speaking of which, when are those two leaving for vacation?"

"Next month, on the ninth. They'll be gone for two weeks."

Karen nearly choked on her bite, but managed to swallow. "You're kidding. From the ninth to the twenty-third?"

"What's wrong?" Valerie asked. "Is there something happening during that time?"

"Well, between your quick divorce, your achievements at work, and juggling your new romances, you may have forgotten," Karen answered. "I hate to change the subject, but the Slamier-Kentwood family reunion is taking place the weekend of the fifteenth. Don't you remember the invitation you got back in February, when you still lived in Parrish? The whole family's coming here from all over the country. There are family members who've never seen Jeremy since he was a baby, others who've never met him at all. Oh, but he just _has_ to be there! Relatives are even coming in from Canada, England, Ireland and France. Everyone in the family has to be there! Aunt Margaret worked very hard organizing this thing."

"If she's coming for my birthday, we'll talk then," Valerie said. "But if Cousins Laura and Barbara are going to be at that reunion – and I gather they will – then it'd be best if Jeremy wasn't there. There's a good reason why he hasn't seen them since he was five."

"They're her daughters, for one thing. And she'll be very upset if you and Jeremy aren't there. These things aren't optional with her."

"Hey, I'd love to be there." Valerie took a big bite from her muffin, thinking of the many confrontations she might have with family members who are strict disciplinarians. She swallowed. "But if I have to put up with those two bitches criticizing me because I'm not physical with him," She rolled her eyes, "then I'd rather not subject him to it. In fact, I just might get physical with them."

Karen sighed harshly, hoping she was just joking when she looked serious. "Don't do that. Please! That'd just ruin it. Aunt Margaret would never forgive you."

"Better pray they don't start something with me."

Karen could tell her sister was getting unhappy again, so she started talking about Sundown and Jeremy's trip again. "What does Sundown has up his sleeve for his trip."

Valerie told about the Grand Canyon. "I haven't been there since that summer I was sixteen, and Jeremy's never seen it. He doesn't know yet, but I can tell he's going to be excited. And Sundown wants him to learn about the Alamo while in Texas. I think maybe he'll understand that once he sees it."

"Well, they say experience makes the best teacher. But still, maybe you should ask Margaret if it'd be okay, and Mom as well."

"I'm sure Mom will be happy to see Jeremy go away with a man he's grown to love." But she wanted to know what the others have planned.

* * *

That night, Valerie said to Jeremy, "You'll have to put yourself to bed soon. I have to have a shower and change clothes." 

"What… for?" Jeremy asked.

"You remember Sundown?" she replied. "He took me out last night while you were at Auntie Karen's. Well, he's coming back here later tonight, and we're going to have more quiet time."

Jeremy nodded and looked at the clock. He had to go to bed in ten minutes. "I… guess… I'll… go to… bed… right… now. I can… read… for… a… little… while… before… I go to… sleep."

"I'll help you brush your teeth, sweetie," Valerie offered.

She went to her bedroom for her bathrobe. She hung it on the hook on her bathroom door, then placed toothpaste on Jeremy's brush. After brushing and using the toilet, Jeremy trotted to his room, then she undressed to shower.

Ten minutes later, she emerged from the shower, back to her bedroom for something conservative, yet sultry. She searched through her work outfits, and found a dark violet silk blouse and indigo skirt. Without a double-breasted jacket, it looked perfect, perfect for staying in and watching the last rental. Now, she had to do her makeup and nails.

In the living, she checked the time. Twenty minutes after nine. Valerie didn't know when Sundown was getting off his shift, and he never told her when he was coming back. She thought of calling the headquarters to ask him, but decided it was rude and sounding desperate. So she spent much of the next hour just waving her hands. She heard it was the quickest way to dry her nails. At quarter after ten, she went to the kitchen to put kernels in the cordless popcorn maker.

Five minutes later, the doorbell rang. Valerie answered to see Sundown. He looked like an outlaw in a black silk dress shirt and matching denims. Surprised, she said, "Sundown! Uh, the good guys aren't supposed to wear full black, expect for funerals."

He stepped in and French-kissed her. He asked, "How 'bout when they wanna be sexy an' darin'?"

She laughed as she escorted him into the living room. "Uh, Sundown, about your flowers being in my bedroom…"

"I know what yer thinkin'," he replied, "an' I agree. I never reckoned the bedroom made 'em look good either. So I got this idea of maybe gittin' rid of all that purple stuff, and turn it into an old-fashioned country bedroom. Somethin' that could suit us both."

_Are you making plans to marry me already?_ she wanted to ask. But maybe he wasn't really coming on to her. So she asked, "Are you sure? You're not planning to change it right this minute, are you? Not that I mind Wild West décor, but I don't think that'd look very good for a room belonging to a single mom."

"An' I thought all that purple looked a bit too womanish for a couple," he told her. "Or at least, it made me feel like I was sleepin' inside a machine that made grape candy. It could stand more color."

"Maybe, but I should decide what changes should be made, and when to change it," she insisted.

"Of course. It ain't in my place to take charge of a lady's home. That was only a suggestion."

As he advanced in the living room, he could sense an aroma from the kitchen. "Is that popcorn I smell? Smells heavenly."

"Sure is, I'm just preparing the last of the movies," she answered. She took the last movie and put it in the DVD player. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable on the loveseat? I have an idea."

Valerie went to get her quilt from her bed, and placed it beside the loveseat. Then, thinking the popcorn must be ready, she went to the kitchen for a big bowl, and poured the snack from its machine. When she came back out, she had Sundown hold the bowl, while she draped the quilt over their laps. She told him, "I've seen Rhonda and Richard do this when they were first dating, and I watched movies with them. Same with Bart and Karen. I also used to do this with Tom before we were married."

They spent the first forty-five minutes of the movie eating popcorn and exchanging romantic glances. They were sitting quite close to each other, but around halfway through, Valerie started to get closer. She put her head on Sundown's shoulder. He could sense this, and immediately put his arm around her.

"Oh, Sundown, isn't this romantic?" she asked. "You and me, sitting all warm and comfortable like this, falling in love to another western romance?"

"Could be even more romantic if our feet were off the floor," he answered.

They were watching a scene where the main lovers were alone. Valerie sensed that some kissing would be coming up within moments. She decided to take this cue, and turned to Sundown, poised to kiss him. Seconds later, her lips touched his, and they were kissing in sync with the movie.

* * *

Mace was driving home from his shift late that night, when he spotted a white van running a red light, and turning the intersection he was on, cutting him off. 

"Must be that damn Berserko and Turbo," he muttered to himself as he slammed his foot on the gas brake. He was speeding after it, determined to not let it leave his sight. He activated his CB radio and said, "Attention all units! I'm followin' a stolen truck from the flower shop. It was goin' too fast to make out the logo, but it looks like a florist truck, and the license plate is 5X6L3H. Suspects may be considered armed and dangerous. All available units required. Mace out!"

The vehicles were weaving in and out of traffic. Mace looked into his rearview mirror to see Highway following behind on his motorcycle, only to speed ahead seconds later. Mace checked his mirror again. More police cars in the hottest pursuit.

After a few minutes, Mace activated his bazooka to shoot out the tires. With each shot, the truck swerved so it could be missed. He saw Highway shooting at tires, too, but he was missing as well.

"Dammit!" Mace shouted. "Those bastards must have some particular place to go!" He kept following the truck anyway, curious as to where it was headed.

The chase eventually led to Valerie's residential area, and her street. Mace began to get concerned. "If this is what I think it is…"

The truck stopped by itself outside Valerie's house. Mace and Highway left their vehicles, followed by Barricade and Bowzer. They saw the driver's door open, and Mace yelled, "Get out of the truck with your hands in the air! Every occupant in there! You're all under arrest!"

They saw Buttons jump from the driver's seat. He opened his trench coat, machine guns pointed at them from his chest. "First, I want all you coppers to drop all yer weapons!" he ordered. "I don't wanna hafta shoot! There's somethin' we gotta explain to you." Soon after, Turbo and Rock Crusher stepped out behind him.

Buttons stepped towards the C.O.P.S. as he said, "We was only tryin' to bring some very special gifts to Valerie here. Luckily, the address Badvibes gave us was still in our memories as we sat in prison. We made itour first priority to try again wit her when we broke out!" He opened the back of the truck to reveal practically every bouquet from the flower shop, and Berserko ready to hand them out.

"Yer wastin' yer time, scumbags!" Mace replied. "Valerie don't want nothin' to do with you!"

"That's what _she_ thinks, but we plan to change her mind, don't we, boys?" Turbo said with a determined attitude.

"Oh yeah!" Buttons agreed. "We'll have her pickin' from one of us, and forgettin' about all of you." Berserko then proceeded to give each crook three bouquets.

Mace, Bowzer, Barricade and Highway all huddled together, and Mace whispered, "We can't let 'em pursue her like this. Somehow, we gotta beat them to Valerie's door."

"Then we have to go now," Barricade agreed. The good guys broke, and rushed up her walkway, the crooks following behind.

Soon, a brawl broke out on the front step, officers versus crooks, attacking each other to see who will open the door first. Berserko was holding on to all bouquets while the other crooks fought. Then, Crusher took his offerings and ran to the door, through the C.O.P.S. like a pile-driver.

Meanwhile, inside the house, Valerie and Sundown were rolling all over the living room carpet in their passion, the quilt not covering them. The movie had ended. They were wearing nothing but their underpants. Sundown's nose looked to be buried in between Valerie's breasts. She pressed him down so his chest was on her stomach, and he was kissing and licking below hers.

"Oh, Sundown!" she cried. "Sundown, please! I want you! I need you! I must have you!"

"Oh, Valerie!" he moaned. "If it's me ya want an' need, it's me yer gonna git!" His lips returned to her breasts.

They heard the noisy brawl from outside. Valerie's attention was soon to the door, and she said, "Sundown, wait! Do you hear a fight on the doorstep? I wonder what's going on?"

Sundown listened for a minute, then said, "It's my competition, baby. They just wanna take you from me. But I ain't gonna let that happen. Just ignore it, it'll go away." He kissed her lips, and pressed on her breasts again.

They were too immersed in their sex to hear Crusher kick the front door in, flowers in hand. Crusher called, "Surprise, Valerie! Your big bad Romeo is here to sweep you off yer feet and–" But he and the others caught her and Sundown in their compromising position.

"Augh!" he cried. "Oh my God! Cover yer eyes, boys!" It was as if he'd never seen a man and a woman have sex before.

Berserko grabbed at his stomach and said, "Uh, where's the bathroom? I don't feel so good!" He put his hand over his mouth and ran down the hall. He saw a toilet and locked himself in the room.

Valerie and Sundown had covered themselves with the quilt. Her look was part relief, part horror. She was inwardly glad that his colleagues had arrived. But she couldn't believe that some of the Big Boss' gang now knew what she looked like with no clothes on. She hoped none of them had a camera.

She started to think back when Dr. Badvibes visited her. She remembered him saying he got her new address from Rhonda. Now she was angry and disgusted, as well as humiliated.

"Sundown," she muttered, "remind me to kick the shit out of my sister, Rhonda, when I see her again. I may have to move to another part of town."

He shushed her and replied, "Now don't you go talkin' like that. You know you'll have lots of protection when you need it." She never thanked him.

* * *

**A/N: **Regarding the scene with Sundown at the mini-bar, early in the chapter: As you may recall in Chapter Eleven, when Mace and Sundown were over at Valerie's house together, Valerie mentioned the mini-bar that she would show them. If you would like me to emphasize on the sheriff's college days and bartending career there (opportunity arising,) I will gladly go back, revise that chapter and re-post. See you next time. 


	17. Valerie's Fortieth

**Author's Note:** In this chapter, there is a reference to Steve Winwood's hit from the 80's, _Valerie_. In case you haven't guessed, I was thinking of this very song when I settled on the name for the title character (when I was trying to think of a nice name for a woman who would most likely dote on a special needs child.) Just like the C.O.P.S. cartoon, I claim no ownership of this song. I'd also add lyrics to that scene, except that is against the rules on this site. Hope you're not too disappointed. Anyway, read, review and enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 17

For much of the week, up until her birthday, Valerie refused to speak with Rhonda. Rhonda called her seven times over the next few days, but she wouldn't answer the phone. She instantly deleted all the messages her sister left. Finally, on the seventh attempt, Rhonda said on the answering machine, "Valerie? Valerie, this is Rhonda! Why the hell are you not taking my calls? You do know you have a birthday coming up, right? I need to discuss more plans with you, so I can confirm them. Stop being such a bitch, little sister! Talk to me so I can make your fortieth a success! I already have the dinner planned for you, but I want to know what else you want to do." Incensed, Valerie went to her computer to e-mail her.

She clicked on the "New Message" icon before any new mail appeared in her inbox. She selected Rhonda's address from her "address book," and typed, _What Happened Saturday Night_ in the Subject line.

_Rhonda,_ she typed, _I am still recovering from the incident that happened while Sundown was over here Saturday night. And you should consider yourself lucky that no one at my work knows about this._

_During Sundown's visit, we were enjoying some beautiful post-movie sex when the door broke open, and we heard Rock Crusher's voice announce his presence. The next thing we knew, we saw Crusher, Buttons McBoomBoom, Turbo Tu-Tone and Berserko catching us in our passion, along with Mace, Barricade, Bowzer and Highway. I was never so humiliated in all my life!_

_But that's not the worst part. Sometime last month, Dr. Badvibes paid a surprise visit in a failed attempt to woo me. He mentioned that he got your address from Nightshade, and you gave him my home address. I had hoped that this would be kept secret from them, as I see them as mere stalkers. In case you don't know or realize, these bad people scare the crap out of Jeremy. I may now require extra protection and daily check-ups from the police because of this._

_The Big Boss still has yet to show up at the front door with a bunch of ragweed, and singing a serenade out of tune (if both you and I know him.) If that happens, I may have to move to another part of the city, and be unlisted in the phone book. Maybe even move out of Empire City altogether. Rhonda, I don't see why Jeremy and I have to be subjected to this crap._ She signed it and clicked on "Send."

In the middle of reading Jeremy a bedtime story, the phone rang. She said, "Hold on, Jeremy. I have to answer the phone." She went to the kitchen and saw Rhonda's name on the caller ID.

"God, I hope she got my e-mail," she muttered to herself. She saw Rhonda's image on the video screen. "Rhonda, hello?"

"Valerie?" she replied. "Valerie, I can't believe that e-mail you just sent me. So sorry if I blew your cover." Valerie looked confused, not knowing if that tone was meant to be sarcastic.

"Well," she said, "there are certain someones I'd like to keep from my life and Jeremy's. I still can't believe you gave Dr. Badvibes my address."

"Hey, I didn't want to give it to him at first, but he was so persuasive. From the way he spoke, it was as if he really cared about you."

"And you believed that?" Valerie sighed quite harshly, her frustrations escaping her. "Rhonda, you've lived here practically your whole life, so you know how the crime is here, and what Badvibes and his cohorts are like. You should've told him that I have a son to raise, and I have to set a good example for him by dating someone on the right side of the law, so would he please fuck off!"

There was a pause, then she saw her sister's face turn a heated color. "Goddamn, I am so sorry, Valerie," Rhonda said. "Oh, but he looked so nice in that tuxedo he showed up in. I thought for sure–"

"Ugh, Rhonda!" Valerie lamented. "That went out of style around forty years ago! That's not very romantic in my books."

"Is it just his criminal record, obviously nerdy looks, and gaudy fashion sense? Because he looked and sounded very intelligent. Valerie, if you don't want any of those C.O.P.S., I'm sure Badvibes will be just perfect for you."

"Rhonda! Fuck, no! God, I'd rather cut myself with razor blades!"

"I'm kidding, Valerie! Now, what would you like to do for your birthday? Of course, this is something I'll need to book at the last minute. It's in two days, you know!"

Valerie checked the entertainment section of the newspaper. There were some movies opening in theaters on her birthday. There was a new romantic film that captured her interest. "Oh, Rhonda, I really want to go see _A Summer Alone_. I've heard this from Cindy and Teresa, and I managed to catch the previews on TV. It looks so wonderful. It certainly looks less slutty than that _Cruel Summer_ movie Karen bought for me, not hat I didn't enjoy it."

"You're kidding me, right?" Rhonda objected. "I just spoke with Aunt Margaret a couple of days ago. She and Cousin Graham are coming here for your birthday. He's not going to want to see a chick flick like that. And no doubt your dream men will be there. That movie would make them sick."

Valerie turned the page and found another movie that would interest her beaux especially. "How about _Hearts of Blue_? I know Elise wants to see this one so bad. She said she and Longarm might see this one tomorrow night, when he's got time off. Yes, it's another romance, but it deals with a group of tough-guy cops who try to find love, guided by the one of the few "softies" in the precinct who just got remarried. And look at this one particular review – 'One of the few heartwarming police dramas Hollywood has ever made.' I think this is something we can all enjoy." She picked out a show time. "How's the 9:15 show sound to you?"

"Well, Graham may be a little indifferent to this," Rhonda replied, "but I think all your cop boyfriends may take interest in this."

"If they love me as much as they say, they will," Valerie joked. Then she started to think about her Aunt Margaret again. "Uh, how did you find out that Aunt Margaret was coming?"

"Mom called a couple of nights ago to tell me. She said she wanted to keep it a surprise, but I insisted that I tell you – when you wanted to talk to me, that is."

"That's just perfect, because I have to talk to her about the family reunion next month. Karen just reminded me of that last weekend, and it turns out there's a conflict."

"What do you mean? Your trip to Los Angeles isn't until the end of this month."

"I can be there, but Jeremy will be out of town. Turns out one of the guys is taking him on an out-of-town vacation. I know Margaret won't like it, but if those Pain-In-The-Ass Mom Cousins are going to be there, then this would be the best thing."

"If you insist, but don't be surprised if she and Mom insist you cancel Jeremy's plane ticket."

"Don't worry, I'll persuade them."

Shortly afterward, they ended their conversation pleasantly. Valerie felt good having gotten her feelings out to her. When she went back to Jeremy's room, she found him already asleep. She tucked him in, put the book back in his bookcase, and turned out the light.

* * *

On July 17th, Valerie turned forty years old. So far, it wasn't so good. There wasn't a party at her work, and the only gifts she got were from Mr. Lancer, Mr. Sussex, Cindy, Elise and Matt. Everyone else either didn't know or didn't care. Probably the biggest highlight was when she had her radio on to an oldies station while she worked. She heard Barricade's voice sending out a song request, Steve Winwood's hit, _Valerie_. 

"From myself, and four others named Mace, Sundown, Bowzer and Highway," he said, "to a woman we love, whose name is Valerie. It's her birthday today." Surprised and extremely happy to hear one of her favorite songs from childhood, she turned her radio up in time to hear the opening bars. Yet, she was also a little worried. What if other people were listening to this station, too?

She also got to leave work at three. But it didn't lessen her disappointment.

"Five birthday presents out of around eighty staff members," she mumbled, then turned sarcastic. "Fabulous. I'm looking forward to Christmas already."

On her way home, she was thinking about how it could get better. It was a special birthday, but she never expected a party. After all, it was mostly family, and nobody said anything about going out to dinner. Now she was thinking about what her mother and aunt were cooking for her birthday dinner. And where would they eat? Probably the living room; her dining table was much too small. When she got to her street, she saw Karen and Polly's cars in her driveway.

With her briefcase and two bags of gifts in her hands, Valerie walked up her walkway to see what looked like two people running around in her living room window. She said to herself, "Don't tell me they're trying to set up a party. Not here. That old place Mom lives in is bigger."

She opened the door to hear an older male voice say, "Shit, she's here," then Karen say, "Ohmigod! Oh no!" She was greeted with Karen's frustrated scream, and her lamenting, "Valerie, you spoiled our surprise!"

A tall male with dark brown hair, around late thirties, met her in the front hall. But Valerie could recognize him easily. "We were preparing a celebration for you."

"Hi, Graham!" she said, hugging him. "Well, this is all a surprise indeed. When did you get in from Washington, D.C.?"

"Two days ago," he answered. "I'm on my paid vacation, which is great timing, because I wasn't going to miss my most beautiful cousin's fortieth birthday. You look like you just had your thirtieth."

Valerie blushed. "Why, that's the sweetest thing I ever heard. I'd say thank you, but I'm too speechless."

She saw Polly coming from the kitchen with another older woman. She looked very much like her, except her hair was a lighter brown. It was Valerie's aunt, Margaret Brainerd, Polly's sister. Valerie went to hug her. "Aunt Margaret! So good to see you again," she said.

"You should've came to see me as soon as you arrived here," Margaret replied.

"Margaret, I wanted you to accompany us to the airport that day," Polly said. "You were nowhere to be found when I called, and you never returned the phone message before we had to leave."

"I was out running errands that afternoon," Margaret replied. "I had some emergency grocery shopping, then I had to go to the Laundromat because my washer and dryer was still broken down. I _did_ call your house when I got home, but you'd already left!"

"Okay, so only you and your son are here," Valerie said to her aunt. "Where are Laura and Barbara?"

"They had to stay in their hometowns to work," Margaret told her. "You'll be seeing them next month at the family reunion, dear."

Valerie started to feel uneasy. Should she tell her now, or later when the rest of her family and friends arrive? Maybe later, then she'll let Margaret confront Sundown. She asked her mother, "Uh, where's Jeremy?"

"Downstairs with Graham's daughter," Polly answered. "Brian and Tyler are down there with them. They're perfectly fine. Don't worry."

Valerie proceeded to the dining room, where she found some boxes covered in birthday wrap on the table. She put her bags down and said happily, "Oh, thank you, everyone! All this really makes my day."

"You didn't get very many presents at work, did you?" Karen guessed.

The family gathered around Valerie, and she took all those gifts from the bags. Mr. Lancer gave her a 50-sheet set of personal stationery Mr. Sussex gave her a set of golden pens that write in black ink, with blue laser lights that shine on the bottom. Cindy gave her a twelve-piece set of wine goblets. Elise gave her a set of four ceramic picture frames that had clubs, diamonds, spades and hearts in a rainbow pattern around them, like a deck of playing cards. And Matt gave her a wall clock with birthstones for the numbers.

"Oh, these are so lovely, Valerie," Polly said. "The clock will look lovely in the kitchen, and we can use some of these goblets with dinner."

Valerie smelled an aroma from the kitchen. "Speaking of which," she said, "what smells so good?"

"In between looking after the children," Polly replied, "we slaved all day in the kitchen making all your favorites. Margaret's been cooking all day yesterday, too. Rhonda, Richard and the kids are supposed to come by later for dinner, as are Bart and the boys. So we'll be having a lot of food."

"Just enough for everyone," Margaret added.

_You may not have enough for everyone,_ Valerie wanted to say, thinking of the very men who gave her that song request. But she wanted to keep them a surprise from Margaret until they arrived.

"Well, I don't know where you all are going to sit," she told them. "The dining table can only sit two to three people."

"The kids will probably go to the basement," Graham suggested.

Shortly after four o'clock, the doorbell rang. Valerie answered to see Bart and Drew only. They smiled and Drew said, "Happy birthday, Aunt Valerie!"

"Bart, Drew, so fabulous you could come!" she replied. "But where's Sheldon?"

"He has to work, so he'll be missing dinner," Bart said. "Hopefully, he'll be here in time for cake."

At quarter after four, the doorbell rang again. Valerie answered it to see Sarah, Nicole and Caleb, all smiling, bearing a big, wrapped box. "Happy birthday, Aunt Valerie!" they all chorused.

She took the box and hugged the three. "Sarah!" she said. "Oh, I'm so happy you guys could make it. But where are your parents?"

"Dad's working until five, and he picking Mom up from her job from there," Caleb answered. "They told us to tell you not to start dinner until they get here."

"I'll tell Grandma," Valerie said. "Why don't you three go downstairs? Jeremy and Heidi are there with his friends. I'm sure they could use more company."

They never heard the doorbell again for another half-hour. When they did, Polly said, "Is that Rhonda? What, she's done selling houses for the day?"

"Maybe Richard got off early," Bart suggested. But Valerie had a suspicion of who it was, and excused herself to answer the door.

She saw Barricade at the door, still in his police uniform. He smiled as he gave her a long rectangular box, then kissed her cheek and said, "Happy birthday, Valerie."

"Barricade! Oh, how sweet," she said. "Let me guess, Bulletproof gave you special permission to leave your shift early? Or you got up at five in the morning just for me?"

"Nah, I had my morning and afternoon shift today," he said. "I got off just in time. And I don't go back on until tomorrow afternoon, so I've got this special night with you."

Valerie took Barricade into the living room, where Polly, Karen, Bart and Graham were. "Oh, my aunt must be in the kitchen watching over the dinner," she said. She started with Graham. "Barricade, this is my cousin Graham, and that's my sister, Karen, and her husband, Bart, and my mother."

"I remember your mother was with you and Rhonda at the picnic," Barricade said.

"Yeah, but you weren't properly introduced," Valerie grinned.

Afterwards, Margaret came back to the living room to see her niece linking arms with a man she'd never met. "Valerie," she said, "who is this?"

Valerie smiled rather nervously and said, "Uh, Aunt Margaret, I'd like you to meet Barricade. He's on this special team of officers called C.O.P.S. You've probably never heard of it."

"Your mother's told me a few things about it, dear," Margaret replied. "They have reputations of being good around innocent people, trying to protect this town. I'm glad you're with one of them instead of Tom."

"I agree," Graham said. "Tom took the strict disciplinarian thing too far for too long."

"What did Laura and Barbara say about it, Aunt Margaret?" Valerie asked.

"Oh, they're very disappointed, I'm afraid," she replied. "They wouldn't say much else except they'd like to talk to you about it at the reunion."

Valerie wouldn't say anything more. She wished that Sundown would arrive soon, so she could have support when she told her aunt her news.

Close to five, the doorbell rang again. Valerie excused herself to answer it, praying to herself that it was Sundown.

When she saw him at the door, his gift for her in hand, she felt something of a breathless relief. He removed his hat, bowed to her, and said, "Happy birthday, darlin'." Valerie immediately kissed him sensually and whispered, "Thank goodness you're here. I need your help."

"What for?" Sundown asked aloud. "Is it about my–" But Valerie immediately shushed him."

"Not until I introduce you to the family," she whispered. Then lower, so nobody else could hear, "I brought this up after everyone else left, and we got dressed again. You promised you'd help me."

"Right, right." He gave her the gift, then she took him out to the living room.

Barricade immediately felt threatened by Sundown's presence. He looked around at Valerie's family, all looking interested as Valerie introduced the sheriff to them. Bart looked especially interested in Sundown's western look and lifestyle. Graham looked at his reactions and asked, "Is something wrong, Barricade?"

Barricade turned to him and said, "Oh, it's just that Valerie's family is acting quite interested in Sundown's company. Look at him and Bart, for example. They're talking about favorite old John Wayne classics, for God's sake. And Karen's showing interest in the conversation, too. It's like I'm invisible."

Graham studied his mother and aunt's reaction. Margaret looked a little more disapproving than Polly. "Well," he said, "it seems her mother is still trying to decide which one she likes better. Meantime, my mother looks a little rattled that Valerie's in love with two men at once. Tell me, Barricade, are there more of them in your group who's after her?"

"Mace, Bowzer and Highway. And I'm expecting at least one of them to join us for dinner."

"That's just terrific. Mother will _love_ that." Graham took a sip of his coffee. "Well, I'm sure Aunt Polly will be asking about all your intentions with Valerie at dinner. She'll probably decide based on what you say."

They listened to Bart and Sundown's conversation, all the while looking at Valerie staring nervously at Margaret. Neither Graham nor Barricade could understand this, and Graham said lowly, "That's weird. Valerie never looked like that around Mother before. I wonder if it has anything to do with our family reunion next month."

When Bart and Sundown stopped talking about the Wild West, Valerie looked relieved and said, "Uh, honey, maybe it's time for us to break the news now."

"Break the news?" Polly asked. "News about what?"

Valerie took a breath and said, "Now, Mom and Aunt Margaret, promise me you won't be upset, but it's about the family reunion planned for next month. You see, there's a conflict."

She started to explain, but Sundown stopped her. He said, "Lemme take care of this, sweetness." He turned to the older women and told them, "Ladies, I'm sorry to hafta tell ya this, but I learned about this reunion last Saturday night, and I'm afraid I won't be there wit Valerie. I'll be vacationin' out of town then."

"That's quite all right," Margaret replied. "Then Barricade can come. After all, I'm sure that most of the family knows about the divorce, and they'll be thrilled that Valerie has a new love."

"There's more," he added. "Jeremy ain't gonna be there, either. He'll be comin' wit me."

Polly was disappointed, but Margaret was shocked and angry. She looked as if she had blood boiling inside her body for instant soup. Finally, she exploded into a scream loud enough to be heard from the basement. "WHAT!" She had a very loud screaming voice for an eighty-year-old woman.

Polly tried to stop her. "Margaret, don't let your blood pressure get out of control. And don't yell; you'll lose your voice."

Suddenly, they heard footsteps coming from the basement, and a young girl asking, "What's with the yelling?" They saw Jeremy, all his cousins, Brian, Tyler, and Graham's daughter, Heidi. That girl was around eight years old, her long brown hair in symmetrical ponytails on both sides of her head.

"What's wrong, Grandma?" Heidi asked. She stared at Barricade and Sundown. "And who are those two guys?"

"You mean you don't know?" Brian asked. "That's Barricade, sitting next to your dad, and that one with Mrs. Boston is Sundown."

"They work with both our dads on this special team of police officers," Tyler added. "Has Jeremy ever told you about the C.O.P.S.?"

"Uh… no," Heidi answered.

"And Jeremy's not going to tell you anything just yet," Margaret said. She addressed the rest of the children. "Why don't you all go back downstairs, while Jeremy has a talk with me and his mother?" Sarah, Nicole and Drew nodded, and they all went back down without a word.

"Jeremy," Margaret began, "I've been busy putting together a family reunion held for next month since last Thanksgiving. There's a lot of family from all over the world who'd love to see you. I think it's more important if you attend that with your mother. Understand?"

"No, ma'am," Sundown interjected, and went to Jeremy. "Son, now yer mama an' I wanted to keep this a surprise, but now that the cat's outta the bag, I think you should come wit me on my trip down south next month."

"Sundown, must you encourage him like that!" Margaret snapped. "Valerie!"

"I'm sorry, Aunt Margaret, but I'm letting him go with Sundown," Valerie replied. "I know it's his obligation to be there, but I'd rather he not see those spank-happy daughters of yours."

Margaret sighed. "I wish I could understand why you don't like Laura and Barbara. So they spanked him on the bum while he stayed with them. He was five years old, Valerie! And they told me he was writing on the living room walls repeatedly – once in permanent black ink."

"And if I remember correctly, he kept doing it up until last Thanksgiving weekend," Polly interjected. "Great Scott, Margaret, even you and I know better than to spank Jeremy. I remember that day when Valerie called to tell me about it. I've never seen her cry so hard or so much. And did you not e-mail me later on, saying that you criticized them both for it?"

"And for that reason, Valerie must keep them from him?"

The doorbell interrupted them. "Saved by the bell!" Valerie declared. "Hope that's Rhonda and Richard." But when she answered, she saw Mace, grinning, with a box wrapped in birthday wrap."

"Happy birthday, baby," he said to Valerie, then kissed.

"Thanks, Mace," she replied. She took the gift, then led him to her family. Karen immediately recognized him and said, "Mace! How nice to see you again. Here, Valerie, let me introduce him to the family."

Margaret was horrified. "Oh my GOD!" she cried. "_Another_ boyfriend, Valerie!" She turned to her sister. "Polly, do you KNOW about this? What's the whole family going to think about this?"

"That I've bounced back in a major way since the divorce," Valerie replied. Barricade and Sundown joined her and Mace, and she kissed them all.

Margaret took Jeremy's hand. "I'm taking this one back downstairs. Maybe I'll go check on the children. I don't know how much more of this I can take!"

Before he went, Jeremy asked his mother, "Mom,… is it… okay… if… Tyler… and… Brian… stay… with… us for… dinner?"

"Jeremy, only if it's okay with their mothers," Valerie replied.

Moments later, they heard Tyler and Brian come upstairs with Margaret. Valerie watched while the boys made their calls. She was eager to show them their mothers' gifts for her if they had to leave.

Tyler looked disappointed when he hung up. "Nuts," he said. "My Grandma arrived today, surprising my Mom – she was supposed to come tomorrow – and she's brought a whole buffet of food herself. She's coming to get me soon. I'll go tell Jeremy."

"Wait!" Valerie called. She brought Tyler to the table and showed him the goblets. "Your mother gave me this at work."

"Those look very nice," he said. "I wonder where you're going to put them?"

"I haven't decided yet. Probably on the wall unit where the television is. See on top where it has a glass display? They'll look perfect there."

Meanwhile, they overheard Brian say on the phone, "Really? Thanks, Mom.… Yes, I promise I'll be polite.… Yeah, see you later tonight." He hung up and grinned. "Mom says I can stay over for dinner."

"That's great," Valerie said. She proceeded to show Brian the picture frames that his mother gave her. He replied, "That looks awesome! I've never seen a set design like that before!"

Jeremy came back upstairs then. He was about to ask when Valerie told him, "Brian can stay for dinner, but Tyler can't. I think you should stay upstairs with Tyler until he leaves, okay? His mother should be here any minute."

Minutes later, they heard the doorbell again. Margaret commented, "Please let that be Rhonda and Richard! Dinner's been in the oven long enough!" She went past Valerie. "Don't trouble yourself, dear, I'll answer this one." And when she did, "Rhonda and Richard! You're finally here! Tough day at work, I imagine? And who are you?"

Valerie overheard this and said, "Cindy? Cindy, is that you?" She took Jeremy and Tyler to the front door, where Rhonda greeted her with, "Happy birthday, sis!"

"Thanks," Valerie said, then introduced them and Margaret to Cindy.

Jeremy and Tyler said goodbye to each other, then as he went to her car, Cindy asked Valerie, "Did you show Tyler that gift I gave you?"

"Yes, and they'll be a hit with dinner tonight," Valerie answered. "I'm sure between the wine and the adults, there'll be enough for everyone."

They laughed, then Cindy said, "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have to get home to Mom. The meals _she_ brought are probably getting cold right now."

"If you want, I'll fax you some cake later on," Valerie joked.

When they were gone, Valerie saw Graham setting up another chair, and several TV trays in the living room. She heard him call, "Mom and Aunt Polly, don't take dinner out just yet. I have to bring in that card table from Mom's car!"

"Did I forget to bring that in?" Margaret asked. "Blast, well, that should been done an hour ago, Graham! Dinner's already done!"

Barricade stood up and said, "I'll fetch the table, Margaret."

Mace and Sundown immediately began to feel the competition, and said together in a louder voice, "No, I'LL do it!"

Valerie immediately went to the three officers to stop another brawl, then turned quickly to her aunt. "Aunt Margaret, make a decision, and quick!"

Margaret studied the three and said, "Barricade seems like a nice gentleman. I think he'll get the table for me. Graham, see if you can find four chairs."

Barricade and Graham set up the table a few feet from the loveseat, while Valerie called from the basement, "You guys! Dinner's ready! Come up and get your plates!" On the kitchen island, Polly and Margaret set out two sets of dinner plates, and a smaller one for Jeremy. They also brought along extra silverware, as well as plastic forks and paper plates for the cake.

"Look at all the dishes we'll have," Margaret said. "How could Rhonda sell her sister a house with no dishwasher?"

"Maybe the previous owners had no use for it," Polly suggested. "Valerie sure doesn't."

Dinner consisted of two large pots of spaghetti with homemade meat sauce, and three different lasagnas – one meat, one chicken, and one vegetable. Valerie put spaghetti on one half of her plate, and one piece of meat and chicken lasagna each. "My favorites!" she said. "And how nice to have three choices. I know Sundown will want the chicken one. I don't know why, but it just looks so Texan."

After the adults served themselves, Polly put half a serving of spaghetti and meat lasagna on Jeremy's plate. Nicole volunteered to take it downstairs for him. When the children were gone, and the adults were in the living room, Polly had all the C.O.P.S. sit on the sofa. Some had spaghetti, some had lasagna, and some had both. Red and white wine were served. Margaret sat with her on the loveseat, and she directed Valerie to her on chair and TV table.

"Now," Polly said to the C.O.P.S., "I want each of you boys to tell me what you find special about Valerie, what you'd do to make Jeremy feel loved, and basically, why you feel you deserve her hand."

Valerie looked at them, looking nervous, as if a light was shining on them from a police helicopter. She rolled her eyes and said, "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore. You did this with Tom, Bart and Richard, and all the other guys we all dated in high school."

"It's all right, Valerie," Barricade said. He went first. "Madame, when I look at your daughter, I see more than just a pretty face. I see everything that I admire in her. I have a lot of value for a woman who works as hard as she does, especially since she's a single mother. Now, my colleagues and I have never been married, and never been fathers, but I can guarantee that I know some things about treating a woman and child right.

"With Jeremy, I may not have seen any emotional signs of abuse, but I do believe Valerie when she says he needs a man who's nice and loving to be his father. You'll be proud to know that I've bonded with Jeremy the easiest. I don't know if Mace or Sundown have ever done this, but Jeremy loves the touch of my arm around his shoulder. And I'm always reminding him that he's too special and worthy to be harmed by anyone. I don't care if it's the Big Boss or Valerie's ex-husband or whoever. I show nothing but affection for him, because I've learned that's all he understands. I love Jeremy, and I will do whatever it takes to protect him. And I will do the same for Valerie. Madame, I promise."

"Ah, how sweet," Margaret cooed.

Mace and Sundown held their stomachs, hoping to keep their dinners down.

"Barricade, I love you already," Polly declared. "Now how about you, Sundown? You seem to be the affectionate type, too."

Sundown coughed and said, "Well, yes, ma'am. When I saw Valerie, I thought she was more beautiful than a fieldful of wildflowers on a Sunday in spring. Just lookin' at her shape makes me believe that she could have any other man in the world, but I guess why she would choose my colleagues an' me is because she's been desirin' both love and protection. An' who can deliver better than a policeman?"

"That's true," Graham supplied.

"Thanks, Graham," Sundown replied. He continued with his story. "Anyway, I know I can provide both because in my personal life, I bear a real romantic, lovin' soul that only the most deservin' women can have. An' I decided that Valerie is that woman. I grew up with the lesson that a woman is to be treated properly. Not to sound conceited, but I possess the looks that would make ev'ry girl in town yearn fer me. But that attitude toned down in a hurry when I met yer daughter over there." He nodded at Valerie. "I love her wit all my heart an' soul, wit ev'ry breath I take. Maybe it's just my knack of fallin' in love so easily around beauty. Or maybe it's because I think Jeremy is so special."

"How so?" Polly asked.

"Whenever I look at Jeremy, or think of him," Sundown explained, "I'm reminded of all the kids in domestic abuse cases I saw back in the trailer parks and suburbs of my native Texas. Parents who do nothin' but torture their children to the point where they don't think clearly on their own. Parents who don't care for affection, who don't wanna listen to the experts, who think screamin' and usin' whatever they can git their hands on to their lil' ones qualifies as good parentin.' This is why I despise her ex-husband so much, and won't talk about him to Valerie. I can tell just by lookin' at the boy that he don't – or won't – understand much in the discipline department. I've spent some time alone with him, but I realized it has to be more special than just a drive in the country. I've managed to bond, but I wanna go deeper. So, Margaret, that's why I'm eager to take him wit me on my trip next month, even if it means missin' yer reunion."

"Now do you understand, Aunt Margaret?" Valerie asked.

"I think I do," Margaret answered. "But the family will be so disappointed."

Mace could sense it was his turn, so he cleared his throat, and said, "There are some things I love most about Valerie. I really admire the strong way she carries herself. In all the time I've known her, I've seen what an ambitious person she is. When I first took her out, I noticed how comfortable she was talkin' about her job. I love that she's a hard-workin' woman, willin' to provide Jeremy with all things necessary without the need fer her abusive husband. That's a real fightin' woman in my books.

"I also like that she's not into material things all the time, maybe on special occasions like today. I really don't like it when women expect their men to pay so much fer a date, or expect really expensive gifts every time she's taken out fer dinner an' dancin'." He paused. "No, I take back that first 'like.' I _love_ that she doesn't want to be spoiled. Really says somethin' about the way she is with Jeremy."

"What you do like about Jeremy, Mace?" Polly asked. "Besides the fact that he doesn't want to be spoiled?"

"When I'm with Jeremy," Mace answered, "I see a fun-loving, energetic little boy, despite his lack of mobility. When Barricade first brought him to the headquarters, I saw how smart and friendly he was. He has this desire to learn as much as he can; he just needed someone to teach it to him through patience. If Mainframe were here, she'd tell ya how good he is at computers. But when I look at him, I see a little boy who just needs love an' tenderness from a real man. Whenever I've held Jeremy, I noticed that I could make him feel comfortable with my big arms an' brawny body. You should've seen us when we were swimmin' together two weeks ago. I never did anythin' I shouldn't have, but I could tell he loved the feel of my back an' chest."

"Stop, Mace!" Barricade interrupted. "You're going too far with that!"

"Yeah, yer makin' her mama ill," Sundown agreed. He finished his spaghetti.

"It's quite all right," Polly assured. "Please go on, Mace."

Mace glared at his colleague competitors, then returned to Polly. "An' that's the feelin' I get when I'm holdin' Valerie. She don't have to say it, but I can tell she's feelin' safe an' secure for those moments. But gettin' back to the kid, if I get that chance to become his dad, I intend to work him very hard on that body of his. He may never be an athlete, but he ain't gonna be out of shape, lazy an' isolated at home. That's a promise. I will revolve as much personal time as I can around Jeremy an' Valerie. I love 'em that much."

Shortly afterwards, they could hear all of Valerie's nieces and nephews come up. Polly immediately called, "If you guys want more food, it's there for you." She looked around the room. "If anyone is finished, I'd like to offer seconds. There's lots."

"I'll have a slice of veggie lasagna this time," Valerie said. "I haven't eaten that in a long time."

"And I'll have another round of chicken lasagna," Sundown said. "Reminds me of what Mama used to make back home." Everyone else accepted seconds except for Rhonda, Richard and Margaret. While they ate, Mace, Barricade and Sundown talked about their jobs and specialties towards the C.O.P.S. team.

Polly was impressed, saying, "Wow, men of high authority, are you now? I can tell one of you will do a good job protecting my daughter and grandson. At least I won't have to worry about them so much anymore." She began to get misty-eyed, and all her daughters knew what she was going to say next. "My husband – Valerie, Rhonda and Karen's father – he died when Jeremy was in first grade. Broken heart, worrying so much about him and Valerie. He'd been trying for to get her and Jeremy out of Tom's life, but she was so afraid of making him go without a father."

"Mom!" Rhonda and Karen cried together, then wept as their husbands held them.

But Valerie never cried. She said, "Mom, it's still my birthday! Look, I know Daddy would've still been with us if I left Tom years ago, but must you make me feel guilty?"

It was a little past six by the time dinner was over. Sarah, Nicole, Caleb and Drew went around the living room collecting all the dishes. Sarah said, "Nobody get up, okay? We'll all do the dishes."

While the older children were in the kitchen, the doorbell rang. Valerie put her table out and went to the door. "That must be Sheldon!" she declared. However, when she opened the door, she saw not only Sheldon, but also Highway and Bowzer, who were bearing gifts.

"Happy birthday, Valerie!" Highway and Bowzer chorused. Sheldon just smiled. Valerie let them in, looking uneasy. If her aunt reacted harshly to three men in her love life, five would certainly shock her.

Mace, Sundown and Barricade were horrified to see the two other C.O.P.S. in the living room. They were now wondering what kind of presents they had for her. They never wondered what they bought for her before, but they were now asking each other, "What did _you_ get for Valerie?" But neither of them would reveal.

Margaret was equally horrified. After Valerie introduced Highway and Bowzer to the whole family, she screamed, "FIVE boyfriends! Now she has _FIVE_! My God, it's like having Jennifer Lopez for a niece!"

"Margaret!" Polly snapped. She turned to Sheldon, Highway and Bowzer. "Would either of you like something to eat? If they're not putting the food away, there should be some spaghetti and lasagna available."

"No thanks, I just ate at work," Sheldon said.

"Us too," Highway said, nodding to Bowzer. "We just came from the headquarters, and we have to go back to work at eight. So does Mace."

"Good to know you're staying around for the cake then," Polly replied.

Suddenly, they heard Nicole call from the kitchen, "Grandma! Tell Sheldon to get his ass in here and help us!"

"I'm coming!" Sheldon called back, then hurried to the kitchen.

Almost ten minutes later, the dishes were done. Sheldon's brother and cousins were all glaring at him. Sarah and Nicole were especially not happy. Sarah said, "Do you know how many dishes we had to do in there? Thanks for _not_ helping us, Sheldon."

"I was putting food away," Sheldon said. "When I was done, I asked if I could help dry and you said no. Besides, there were four of you."

"You could've taken a few lasagna pans and dried them anyway," Nicole said.

"Girls!" Polly said. "If you're through arguing, I'd like to see your aunt open her presents, then we can have cake." Sheldon and Drew brought all the unwrapped gifts to the coffee table as Valerie sat on the sofa.

She opened the gifts from family first, and started with her mother. She found a golden pen holder designed to hold ten large pens and twelve small ones, and a matching paperweight. "Wow!" she said. "This would be really good for my office at work. Thanks, Mom."

Next, she opened Margaret's gift. It was an electric milkshake maker. Margaret smiled at her thanks, and she told Valerie, "Now you can get off that coffee and tea. I've always been after your cousins to drink more milk at their ages. Besides, you can treat Jeremy to a milkshake every now and then."

"Can it make egg crèmes?" Valerie asked.

"I don't see why it can't," her aunt replied.

The Shewfelts and the Lorimars decided to give gifts as families. The Shewfelts had given her a travel bag for her laptop, while the Lorimars gave her a ten-inch portable DVD player and two movies, _Exchanging Vows_ and _The Interstate Home_. Valerie thanked them, and Karen said, "Now you'll have something useful for your upcoming trip. You can use the player on the plane. _Exchanging Vows_ is hilarious; I highly recommend it. Two engaged couples from different generations plan each other's weddings."

"Assuming they don't make me work on the flight there," Valerie laughed.

Jeremy just gave her a coffee mug that said, "Mom Love Forever." Valerie loved and said, "This is so sweet," but she immediately suspected that Karen bought it for him when they were at the mall the day she told her about the hypnotic broadcast.

Finally, she opened all the C.O.P.S.' gifts. She started with Barricade. In a medium-sized cube-shaped box, she found two white candles that were supposed to be peppermint-scented.

"When you light them, that's when they give off the fragrance," he said.

"How lovely!" Valerie cooed. "This will look so wonderful right here on the coffee table, and they can add to a sensual mood with the lights out. Thank you, Barricade. You're so thoughtful."

She opened Sundown's gift next. She opened another box and took out a black silk neck mannequin with a sparkling diamond necklace upon it. Valerie screamed in delightful surprise and said, "Oh my God, this is so beautiful! It must have cost so much! Sundown, tell me you didn't take out a loan for this."

"Nope," he replied. "I bought it wit the power of the MasterVisa card." He then proceeded to walk up to her, take the necklace, and fasten it on her. She said softly, "Thank you, Sundown," then kissed him.

Next, she opened Mace's gift. It was a magic 8-ball colored pink, with a big heart at the bottom.

"You don't hafta say nothin'" he said. "Just shake it an' a message will pop up in the heart-shaped window. Each message represents what I think when I ain't with you."

She shook it once and turned it upside down. The heart glowed red, and in violet lettering was the message: _I love you so much._ She shook it again, and another message came up: _You are my jewel._

"How neat!" she said. "This'll look nice in my room. Thanks, Mace."

"Tacky and cheap is what I think it is!" Bowzer commented.

This prompted Valerie to open Bowzer's gift next. She saw a silver heart that felt like stone, with her name engraved in red lettering, and a personal love poem that went with it:

_Valerie, your name means "strong"_

_And it describes my love for you._

_You are the original Mother Earth._

_You are the brightest light in my life._

_What can I wish for someone_

_Who deserves all the success in the world?_

_You are my moonshine, my starship, my strength_

_And my world will be dark without you._

Valerie squealed and cried, "Oh, Bowzer, this is so wonderful. And a personal love poem all for me. Oh, I love this! I'll treasure it always. Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She went up to him and gave a long kiss.

Bowzer smirked at his competition, saying, "See, I _knew_ she'd like my present best!"

"Shut up, Bowzer!" Mace barked.

"Yeah, she still has to open _my_ gift!" Highway added. "Prepare to be topped!"

Valerie opened Highway's gift to see a long rectangular box. She opened that to see a bracelet patterned with rubies, sapphires and diamonds. All the other C.O.P.S. were shocked to see it.

"I don't believe this!" she cried in both surprise and amazement. "It's so beautiful, and it'll go so well with the necklace. Highway, you spent a fortune on this, didn't you?"

Instead of answering, Highway opened his wallet and pull out a MasterVisa Silver card. Valerie noticed Sundown's angry look, glaring at his colleague.

"So that was you in that jewelry store when I was lookin' at that necklace!" he said. "You just had to upstage me even in the spendin' department, didn't ya?" Before Highway could reply, she'd walked up to him and kissed him.

It was now time for cake. Rhonda and Karen moved all of Valerie's gifts to the dining table, and Karen turned all the lights in the living room, dining room and kitchen.

To the singing of "Happy Birthday," Valerie was presented with a large chocolate cake. There were two candles on it, consisting of the numbers four and zero. When they were blown out and removed, she cut the cake into squares so they looked like brownies. She put each slice on a paper plate, added a plastic fork, served everyone.

"I hope everyone likes chocolate," Polly said. "This birthday girl loves it."

"Mom, I only have one candy bar at lunch once or twice a week," Valerie protested, laughing.

After Barricade relished a bite, he said, "Mmm, this is so delicious. Polly, you're a good cake baker."

"Actually," Jeremy said, "I… overheard… Grandma… ordering… it from… a… bakery… at some… supermarket… at… ten… this… morning… while… I… waited… for… Brian… and… Tyler. She… had… to… make… room… at the… bottom… of… the… fridge."

Polly blushed a little. "Well, it would've been to complex for me to make. I'd never be able to fit that in my oven."

As they were finishing, Highway and Bowzer noticed Polly staring at them with interest. Highway said to her, "Now, I know what you're thinking, ma'am. You want to know why I would be worthy for your daughter and grandson. Let me assure you that I can be caring, kind and loving, both on the job and off. I am the type of man who likes a quiet evening at home, as opposed to a wild night of partying. I guess Valerie never told you of any of our dates. I am a man who likes to hold a woman, whether she needs it or not. I am a sensual soul, who is a passionate lover, and I think that's what Valerie will be needing, given her past. And I can also be fun-loving, as you can by the time I spent with Jeremy last week." He proceeded to tell her about their trip to the waterslides.

"I'm glad you had such a good time," Polly replied.

Bowzer cleared his throat and said, "Ma'am, I just want to tell you that I'm sorry for what my cyborg dog, Blitz, did to Jeremy last month. I know it should've been preventable. But I love Valerie with everything I have, and I know she can adjust to my dog. I think that having a pet would be rewarding for Jeremy, even if it is a robot. I want to so desperately to take her as my wife–"

"It's all right," Polly assured him. "That's water under the bridge now. I forgive you." Bowzer nodded his thanks.

At quarter to eight, Mace, Highway and Bowzer had to leave. Highway announced, "Listen, we hate to leave, but we simply must go back on duty. Bulletproof is expecting us." He looked at Valerie and Karen. "Thanks so much for inviting us over here, and we hope you like our gifts, Valerie."

"You guys are very thoughtful," she replied. "I'll enjoy them very much." She kissed all three of their mouths.

When they were gone, she looked at Barricade and Sundown. She said, "Now that you two are still here, I was thinking maybe you'd like to accompany my family and me to the movies in about an hour. It's a cop-themed romance that I think you two will enjoy, _Hearts of Blue_. The show starts around quarter after nine.

"We'd love to escort you to the bijou," Sundown said.

"Maybe you can even sit between us," Barricade added.

"Caleb and I can look after Jeremy and Heidi while you're away," Nicole offered.

Valerie turned to Brian and asked, "What time does your mother expect you home?"

"She says I have to be in by nine," he answered.

"Fine, we'll swing by your parents' house on the way there," she offered. "I should have that address somewhere."

While his mother was searching through the phone book, Jeremy took Brian and Heidi downstairs and said, "Wanna… play… another…game?"

"How about Candy Land?" Heidi offered.

Finally, at quarter to nine, Valerie called from upstairs, "Brian! It's time for us to go." Jeremy followed his friend upstairs, and they said their goodbye before a crowd of adults at the front door. He looked at Nicole with wide eyes, and she said, "Yes, that is a full house going to the movies, isn't it?"

"Now, we should be home at around eleven-thirty, maybe a little after that," Valerie said. "Heidi, your father has allowed you to spend the night here, and he'll be coming back for you in the morning, okay?" The little girl nodded happily.

"You guys just have yourselves a good time," Caleb said. "We'll be fine."

Nicole, Caleb, Jeremy and Heidi all went to the window, and watched as Drew and Sheldon walked back to their house, and everyone else drove off.

* * *

Wow, such a long chapter. I'll say that was some party… LOL! Hope you enjoyed being there, too! 


	18. The Troubles Between The Trips

**Author's Note:** In this chapter are references to two more (rather suggestive) songs: Madonna's _Justify My Love_ and Cathy Dennis' hit from the early 90's, _All Night Long (Touch Me)_, both used in the same scene. One, I don't own these songs, as usual. Two, I didn't copy and paste the lyrics here, what I did (cleverly) was take some memorable/important lines, and wrote them in as part of dialogue or narration actions. I hope this is acceptable, if not, I'll rewrite and re-post. Be forewarned, this chapter also contains suggestive actions. Please read and review.

* * *

Chapter 18

"And one more time," the photographer said to Jeremy. "Keep your head up, kid. Look straight at me." The back of Jeremy's head was somewhat rested on the back of his neck, so it wouldn't fall forward. He was somewhat slouched, his back looking like a turtle's shell.

It was Valerie and Jeremy's last full day in Los Angeles, two weeks after her birthday. They had already shot the commercial for Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs cereal, now they were doing the photo shoot for the cereal box. Valerie smiled, and said to Peter Dempsey, "He looks so cute with that bowl of cereal in front of him. I can tell he's going to look very good in supermarkets across North America."

"Yes," Mr. Dempsey replied. "We've just started experimenting with new flavors, including the ripple flavors of chocolate, butterscotch and strawberry, as well as rainbow, and bubblegum flavors. We may even include tiger stripes. If this proves successful with our Neapolitan brand, we just might need your son back for more photo ops and commercials in the late fall, maybe early winter."

"Well, he'll be in school then," she said. "I wonder how we're going to schedule it all. I wish all ad agencies across the country would have sound stages in the buildings. Not that I don't enjoy it, but frequent business travel does get to me after a while."

Suddenly, after a few more shots, the photographer announced, "Yeah, and I think we're all done here. Wow, fifty shots of your son, Ms. Boston. The company's going to have a really hard time choosing just one picture. I can't believe how cooperative he's been."

"Hey, what'd I tell you?" Valerie asked. "Jeremy is the sweetest, most innocent boy you'd ever meet." They watched as Jeremy ate as much as he could from the bowl in front of him. "And that's all he's been eating for breakfast at our house since the print ad went through. In small bowls, though."

She checked her watch. Four-thirty in the afternoon. "And someone's going to have a late dinner tonight." Everyone laughed.

That night, Valerie activated her laptop to check her e-mail. Today was July 31st. She knew that Breath for Life Foundation infomercial was to be presented today, and she wanted to know that went. Mr. Sussex assured her that Elise would take care of it. She was delighted to see a message from him entitled _BREATH FOR LIFE INFORMERCIAL_, and clicked on it. It read:

Our meeting with the Breath For Life Foundation was a success. After watching the final product the morning of the meeting, we agreed that much of the credit should go to Matt Lynch and the video crew for their hard work in editing. Elise was responsible for much of the presentation, speaking on behalf of the team – and gave a brilliant, informative performance – while Matt took charge of the video. Prior to the meeting, we debated about whether Donna Grayson, Michael Hammer and Joe DiTorino should also participate, but after talking it over with Mr. Lancer, we decided that keeping them away should be part of their punishment for how they treated you during production.

_BFL heads Lawrence Hyatt and Jeff Canada were especially impressed with the positive testimonies of people in Empire City Park. In the words of Hyatt, "If so many ordinary people like these candies so much, then this will be our most successful fundraising idea yet." Mind you, that part was a short 90-second bit (which was duplicated and shown twice throughout the infomercial,) so we could only fit fifteen of those in, out of the forty people you had sample. Needless to say, we saw a perfect record displayed on the tape, and that was enough to convince them. We were very pleased to pass on your report that out of all the people that participated, only three gave negative responses, informing of fruit and chocolate allergies. As a result, BFL accepted the infomercial immediately upon presentation._

_The infomercial is now in the process of being copied so it can be distributed to television stations all across the country, in time for fundraising to begin on September 1. Congratulations, Valerie. You, Elise and Matt will be looking at pay increases as a result of this success._

She was very pleased with how things turned out on the infomercial. She decided to send a reply informing Mr. Sussex of her successful trip, as well as the new proposals Mr. Dempsey just brought up with her. She typed, _I believe that for projects like this, we can use our agency as home base for filming, and invite Mr. Dempsey and all other out-of-town clients to Empire City. Therefore, I propose that we spend August and September looking at expanding our business for our own sound stage and necessary props, depending on the budget._

She closed her message and clicked on "Send." It sounded like a good idea. She hoped Mr. Sussex would agree.

* * *

The next afternoon, at the airport, Valerie and Jeremy sat waiting for their plane. She was talking on her cell phone, speaking with Mr. Sussex about his memo. She said, "I'm very happy that infomercial presentation went so well. I sent you a reply, and am wondering if you got it already." 

"I did, and frankly, I wish your idea would be feasible," he said. "With all our office and work space for employees, there just isn't enough room. I think we went over this in the interview three months ago. I said there would be assignments that would require travel, and if Jeremy will be needed for more commercials later this year, I think he could sacrifice some school time. I'm sure the staff at the school you picked will be very understanding."

Valerie was about to reply when she heard her flight being called. She heard, "Those passengers with children under five, or passengers who need help with are required to board now." She said, "Listen, sir, I really need to go. They're calling for Jeremy to board now, at least." She hung up and sealed the phone in her purse.

Ten minutes later, they watched the rest of the passengers come on board. A light brunette woman carrying a magazine sat down next to them. Valerie said hello, but the woman just smiled and started reading.

However, by the time the plane was in the air, and the seatbelt sign turned off, the woman had reached Valerie's Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs ad. She looked over at Jeremy, sitting beside the window, and saw he looked just like the boy in pictures. She said to Valerie, "Excuse me, I can't help but to notice your child looks just like the one in this cereal ad."

Valerie took the magazine, and was amazed and happy. "Oh, it's in magazines already?" she asked. "That's wonderful! This is the ad I created for Dempsey. And that's my son in these pictures, and he's sitting right beside me. We just finished commercials and a cereal box photo shoot."

"Hi there," Jeremy said.

"Well, you must be proud of yourself," the woman replied. "Your son's real sweet. He'll probably become famous, and he's what, five?"

"Ten, actually. He'll be eleven in several weeks." But Valerie was offended by that last comment. _Five?_ she thought. _How dare she assume my son is a little kid because of his size and slow rate of maturity!_ She just said, "Would you mind making some room? I'd like to get one of my carry-on bags." The woman did so, and Valerie retrieved her DVD player and _Exchanging Vows_ movie. They never spoke for the rest of the flight.

They arrived in Empire City at a little past 9:30 P.M., local time. When they landed, the flight attendants told Valerie, "Ma'am, perhaps you should go ahead, and we'll help your child after everyone else is off." Valerie agreed and left, her bag on her shoulder. She wondered who would be waiting for her in the arrivals.

At the baggage claim, she was waiting for her suitcases when she heard a gravely voice call, "Valerie! Over here!" She turned to see Mace and Barricade waving at her, smiled and waved back, then gave a gesture telling them to wait a minute. But they decided to come to her anyway.

She kissed them both and said, "I thought about you and the others every day when I wasn't working, I swear."

Barricade looked around the area. "Where's Jeremy?" he asked.

"Oh, he'll be coming shortly," she answered. "The flight attendants were just helping him off after clearing the plane. In fact, we should be seeing him any moment now."

Soon enough, they saw a flight attendant walk through the doors holding Jeremy's hand. Valerie went to get him, thanked the attendant for the service, then he trotted to Mace and Barricade when he saw them.

"Hey there, lil' bud," she heard Mace say.

Just then, the carousels began to activate, and Barricade said, "Don't trouble yourself, sweetie. You just had a long flight. We'll take care of the bags."

She stepped aside, and Mace asked, "How'd your trip go?"

"It was fabulous," Valerie said. "Everyone at Dempsey headquarters just loved Jeremy. Everywhere we went – business dinners, the studios, the sound stage – he came with a sunny disposition, ready to work. Of course, he was also jumping on my bed to wake me up in the morning. Now they're talking about bringing us back for more as other flavors of Ice Cream Puffs develop. Peter Dempsey says Jeremy will be to Ice Cream Puffs cereal what that Mikey kid was to Life cereal in the 1980's. I'm sure he'll be talking with Mr. Sussex on Monday."

"Well, you sure picked a good week to be out of town," Mace said. "That damn Big Boss is at it again. He and his cohorts have been goin' around neighborhoods, breakin' into houses and kidnappin' children and teenagers to recruit into gangs. We've had enough problems with criminal youth without those crooks creatin' more gangs. What's worse is that he was also tryin' to control the youth gangs we already have."

"They were driving a stolen eight-wheeled cargo truck," Barricade added. "Inside, we found a collection of mind-numbing devices, knowingly built by Badvibes. We tried to confiscate them, but that gang quickly fired on us, right into a horrid shoot-out. And that was two days ago. Bowzer, Bullseye and Mirage, as well as several others, are still in the hospital for their wounds, and Blitz should be almost repaired."

"Oh my God," Valerie breathed. "Now I'm really too afraid to leave Jeremy unsupervised. I must take this to Karen as soon as I get home." She didn't have to look at her son to know he was scared; she just felt him clinging to her.

"Did… they… try… to get… Tyler… and… Brian?" Jeremy asked.

"Oh, Jeremy, they couldn't get to 'em," Mace said. "Tyler told Blackbelt that they came to his house with Mitch and Brian there. They saw Buttons McBoomBoom and Badvibes. Luckily, both Mitch and Tyler were able to fight 'em with their ninja skills. Then, Jon came home an' pulled a jackknife on 'em. He managed to apprehend 'em right in the house."

Valerie looked down to see Jeremy still frowning, and knew what it meant. "I guess this means Sundown's vacation is called off," she assumed. "This'll probably be a very important investigation for the whole C.O.P.S. team."

"Well, Bulletproof an' several others have already been on this since it happened," Mace said. "Sundown's holidays will probably be spared, as Bulletproof will likely call an emergency conference of police chiefs across the country. It's gettin' bad in other cities, too, with the gangs they have. Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Detroit, Miami, even in Los Angeles. You never had any trouble while you were there, didja?"

Valerie shook her head, seeming satisfied, then Barricade said, "Hey, Valerie, you remember when I told you I got my vacation time?"

She smiled. "Two weeks. Late August through early September, I remember."

"Well, the day after you left, I went ahead and booked two plane tickets to Washington D.C.," he said. "From the 26th to September 1st. And it'll be just Jeremy and me. You'll probably have to work, won't you?"

"Yeah," she said. "Especially now if we'll have to do commercials and print ads looking for police recruits. All departments and academies will probably want Lancer and Sussex's service."

"Actually," Mace said, "we were called to duty while filmin' a commercial with your company."

They walked past the airport convenience store on their way out, and Valerie saw a large magazine rack. She thought of the woman who sat next to her on the plane, and went inside. She searched through the row of women's magazines. What was the one her seatmate was holding, she wondered. What did the cover look like? She spied the current issue of _Lilyfield_ with the current "hot" R&B singer, Vaneque, on the cover. She wouldn't tell Mace or Barricade, but she found her infamous ad on page 67. "Here it is, here it is!" she announced. "Here's my ad! The one in connection with my trip."

Mace and Barricade looked at the ad, studying Jeremy's face, and both smiled. "He does look pretty cute in this one," Barricade said, then showed the ad to Jeremy.

"Like I told ya, babe," Mace added. "That's gonna boost the boy's self-esteem sky high."

"Mr. Dempsey told me during business meetings on Wednesday that as soon as he arrived back in Los Angeles, he made appointments with all the family magazines in the city, showed them copies of the ad, and bought it immediately," Valerie said. "He said that _Lilyfield_ thought it was so good, they put it in that issue at the last minute before it hit newsstands. I was so surprised." She took the magazine back. "A woman sat next to me on the plane here, and I think this was the one she was carrying." She went to the counter to buy it.

She opened it to her ad again. "Gentlemen, this very promotion is the highlight of my career." She really wanted to show it to Highway; he'd seen her finished product first.

Mace and Barricade kissed her right in the store, then they went directly out of the airport.

* * *

The following Monday, Valerie was eating in the company dining room with Cindy and Elise. They were filling her on in the previous week, when Mr. Lancer brought in a woman with her auburn hair in a bun. The new woman looked to be at least five years older than Valerie, and was dressed like a military lawyer. Valerie knew that Catherine Regis had to leave for medical reasons, after falling into another diabetic coma, but her replacement looked chilled and scary, like a typical office bitch. Mr. Lancer smiled and said, "Valerie, I'd like you to meet Kim Masterson. She has been hired to replace Catherine Regis while she takes a leave of absence. Her first day here was your first day out in Los Angeles, and she's been working on a commercial promoting the Empire City police force." 

"Yeah, we're talking about that right now," Valerie replied.

Mr. Lancer continued, "Kim comes from a strong military background. Her parents were both in the Marines, and she worked with the military to pay her way through college. Although she's never served in any war, she has majored in government and political studies. And like you, she's a single mom, since divorcing her husband years ago. She says she's used these experiences as motivation to work hard. She has worked at ad agencies all over the country, and her references have given positive testimonials."

"Pretty impressive, isn't it?" Cindy supplied. "Although she can be a bit militant at times, she can be pleasant to work with if you do exactly as directed."

Kim finished her lunch, then waited for Valerie to finish hers. She excused herself, then took her to the ladies' room. Cindy, Elise, and some others were watching fearfully. Kim had a rather tight grip on Valerie's arm. There, Kim folded her arms and glared, like a peeved mother waiting for an explanation when her child broke something."

"So, Valerie Boston, I've heard so much about you," she said. "Especially with that disabled son of yours."

"Yes, well, I've been working hard to support him since my divorce," Valerie replied. She didn't feel like talking about Tom, so she just talked about Jeremy. "He'll be eleven soon, and has been wonderfully well-behaved since I first moved here, not sad, lonely and disoriented, like he was when we lived in Indiana. Shaken Baby Syndrome, do you know what that is? So severe, the doctors said he'd never function like other children his age. His physical and mental attributes are forever screwed up. And all because I made a terrible choice in marriage partners after he was born."

"I see," Kim replied. "What does he do around the house?"

"Oh, he just reads books. He loves to read. He also likes to watch TV, but he sometimes doesn't understand what's going on. So I basically endulge him in kid's shows, cartoons and educational stuff."

"Really? Because all _my_ children have been doing laundry, dishes, and a slew of other chores from the time they were eight years old."

"Well, your kids were obviously never shaken at all as infants. Good for you." Valerie gave an approving, yet nervous smile, yet it didn't improve Kim's mood. "I'm afraid Jeremy can't do any of that. He's not tall enough to reach the top of an open washing machine, although he does take things out of the dryer. He can also pick stuff off the floor to put away, but that's about it. I'm afraid to even let him work a vacuum cleaner." She cleared her throat rather roughly. "One time when he was eight, he tried to help set the table for dinner, and he dropped all the dishes and cutlery. The cutlery survived, but I had to replace a set of eight dinner plates. I can't even tell you what my ex-husband did to him after that. It was so horrible, so unspeakable."

Kim immediately retorted, "Obviously, your ex-husband sounds like someone I'd love to have in my home."

Valerie was shocked to hear this and said, "You're joking me, right, Kim? Tom was a monster! In the first place, he never even wanted Jeremy. When I refused to abort, he stayed away from me until I gave birth, _and_ was responsible for Jeremy's physical and mental problems. You think he'd want to date a woman with kids? Think again! At least you want to juggle career with parenthood."

"The point," Kim replied snidely, "is that at least this _Tom_ tried to lay down some rules with your son. Disability should not have anything to do with it, no matter how severe."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "If you were to get to know Jeremy, you'd change your tune in a heartbeat. I only lay down simple rules that Jeremy can easily understand. Unfortunately, there aren't many. He knows he has bedtime at nine at night, and he goes directly to it without being told."

"Not acceptable, _Valerie_!" Kim snapped. "First of all, you SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISCIPLINING your child ALL ALONG, not use his problems as a defense mechanism against your husband, and make him the bad guy and fix what YOU WERE BREAKING!" Her voice was loud enough to be heard all over the building. "That child is a spoiled brat with you coddling him, and I guarantee that if he isn't kept on a tight leash, and you're letting her get away with everything, he will be doing drugs, drinking, and driving recklessly just to spite any man who'll be in your life!"

"What crap!" Valerie interrupted. "Drugs? What would he be doing? And how would he have any strength to walk into a store and demand alcohol? I usually have to hold his hand when he's walking up a walkway to a house. And if I think he's trotting ahead too fast, I have to call at him to slow down, just so he won't hurt himself. And he won't be driving at any point in his life, I can tell you that right now. He'd be too unstable!"

"Shut the hell up!" Kim snapped again. "If you had ANY respect for your husband, you'd have TOLD YOUR SON to do what he is supposed to do – more than what you give him – and do it WHEN TOLD… not wait until he reached the 'in your face' stage! No wonder he finally walked out on you! Good for him!" She was being loud again.

"If you must know," Valerie said, her voice much calmer, "my ex-husband always went straight to the 'in your face' stage with Jeremy. He was also using his fists, and whatever he can find as weapons around the house. _I_ left _him_, and you should've seen how quickly I filed for divorce. He filed a counter-suit and lost everything with his family. Quit lauding him as the saint he wasn't."

"And who was paying the bills, him or you?"

"He was." Then, before Kim could respond, "Granted, he insisted on looking after the family finances. I had to surrender my checks."

"Fine. Then he shouldn't have to live in squalor with a spoiled brat."

"Jeremy is not mean, and he is not dirty, if that's what you're trying to say. He has something of a problem with drooling, but it ends there. And quit calling him a spoiled brat. He's not the type to ask for everything under the sun just because other kids have it."

Just as Cindy came into the bathroom, Kim shoved Valerie against the edge of the sinks, and slapped her hard. She pointed her finger so it touched Valerie's nose. "Understand this, bitch!" she spat. "You are a shitty mother who is too lazy and weak to discipline your own child! You want to be the 'hero,' therefore, putting the burden of discipline on your ex-husband. Furthermore, at the age of eleven, your child should be doing his chores when he's told to do them, and not just picking up from the floor and emptying the damn dryer! I'm only repeating certain things because you're just aren't getting it!" She took her finger away. "My kids were doing their own laundry at their young ages, not because I was a tough 'bitch' of a mom…"

"Which you are," Valerie interrupted.

"…but I explained that if everyone helped with the chores around the house, we had more time for good times," Kim finished, ignoring Valerie's last statement. "You know about my military background and parenting situation. _My_ ex-husband went to jail when my 16-year-old daughter was in pre-school, for crissake! Sex acts with a minor! I had to be everything to my kids, EXCEPT their buddies! My three kids are now–"

"I don't want to hear about _your_ damn kids!" Valerie snapped back at her. She tried very hard not to cry. "_Your_ three kids can actually understand what is right and what is wrong! My only child can't, and it's going to be this way all his life! That's why I'm BOTH mother and friend to him. I have no other choice! Accept it if you care to work alongside me."

"You fucking wimp!" Kim bellowed. "Donna told me last week all about that infomercial incident. I can't say how disgusted I am with that! And you call yourself a project manager! Obviously, you'll only work well with people who agree with your slacking styles of parenting. Just remember one thing: tough love works! Quit treating it like it's a fucking oxymoron! You had better step up to the plate and quit spoiling your son!" She shoved Cindy aside on her way out. "Shaken Baby Syndrome, my ass!"

Valerie turned around without looking at Cindy, and began to wash her face to re-do her makeup. Cindy went up to her and said, "I could hear everything from in here. Are you okay? Maybe when you're done, we can report this to Mr. Lancer. Don't worry, it's still fresh in my mind."

"She should be lucky she has the same position as me," Valerie lamented. "I'd hate to be working with _her_ on projects! Stupid bitch, she has no idea what's it's like to raise a special needs child. Hardly anyone here does." She finished applying foundation, and started on the eyeshadow. "You can take this to Lancer if you want. I'll be fine."

"I'll wait until you apply lipstick," Cindy said. "Then we're taking this to Lancer together. Obviously, he and Sussex never told her anything about you. You can tell him what she said about your husband, I'll tell him about the assault."

Valerie sighed. "This'll be like that discipline meeting with Donna, Michael and Joe last month, only without the written complaint."

* * *

When she arrived at her sister's house after work, Valerie was almost exhausted. Karen frowned at this and said, "God, Valerie, I thought I'd never see you like this again after you cleared up that infomercial incident. Don't tell me it's those same three assholes." 

"No, it's a new asshole," Valerie corrected. "You remember when I told you Catherine Regis took leave because of her diabetes? Her replacement is worse than they were. She started the day I left town. Apparently, she's heard some things and decided she doesn't like me."

"Well, dinner should be almost ready," Karen said. "Why don't you stay with us, and you can tell us about it."

Two extra spots were set up for Valerie and Jeremy, and when they sat down, Valerie told about the terrible lunch hour she had, specifically, the fight in the ladies' room.

"And when I told Kim what Jeremy could and couldn't do around the house, she started getting nasty," she said. "God, but I should've never brought Tom into the conversation at all. I told her about what happened when he tried to set the table, and Kim said that Tom sounds like the type of man she'd like to have."

"I shouldn't be surprised," Karen said. "_She_ sounds like his kind of woman. I just hope he can handle her kids."

"And she had the audacity to suggest that the reason why Tom and I divorced was because I wasn't telling Jeremy what to do and when," Valerie continued, "and putting the 'burden of discipline' on _Tom_!" She bit into her corn on the cob. "Kim says her kids were doing their own laundry at age eight. Bravo for them! Jeremy can't even jump up high enough to reach the top of the damn washer. But does she even listen? _Nooooo!_" She ate some more potatoes. "I'm just a weak and lazy mother who spoils her son, and lets him get away with everything."

"I hope you went to Mr. Lancer," Bart said. "She's in an authorial position, yet that sounds like an abuse of authority. It really does."

"Well, Lancer admitted that he never told her anything about me," Valerie replied, "but he assured me that they'd have a chat. I hope this is something she thinks about."

She stayed until eight o'clock, then went to check her phone messages when she got home. The light was flashing once at a time. She played her message.

"Valerie?" the voice said. "Valerie, this is Kim from work. Listen, I want to say how sorry I am for how I talked to you at lunch today. Mr. Lancer talked to me about you after you and Cindy ratted me out. I realized I was wrong for treating you like absolute shit. But I wasn't wrong about the way you're raising Jeremy, and I told Lancer this. Call me at 508-6198. I think we need to talk – like adults."

Valerie sighed. She wouldn't call her back. She knew Kim was wrong about Jeremy. But Mr. Lancer never really met him; she wondered if Mr. Sussex had also talked to her. She wondered if Kim knew about that Ice Cream Puffs project. Maybe if she knew what Jeremy looked like, and how he made it successful, she'd have a little more sympathy for him.

She said to the boy, "Jeremy, go get your pajamas, and go to the bathroom quickly, please. I'll be there to run your bath in a few minutes." He nodded and left.

First, she tried calling Mace. She dialed his number and waited, but got his answering machine after four rings. She said to the machine, "Mace, it's Valerie. Listen, I had another not-so-good day at work. If you get this message before eleven, call me, please. I want to talk to you. I'll hear from you later."

Next, she called Highway, but got his answering machine, too. She said, "Highway! This is Valerie calling. Listen, remember that time I cried to you because people at work were criticizing my parenting? Well, I'm getting more shit – this time, from a new project manager. I really need to open my heart. Please call me if you don't get home too late. Bye."

Then she called Barricade, but got his machine as well. Valerie was starting to get frustrated. "Barricade! Barricade, it's Valerie calling." She almost said, "Where is everybody?" but she didn't want him to know that she'd called Mace and Highway, too. So she just said, "Listen, I had another rough day at the office, and of all the times for the man I love to not be at home. I'm going to be up until eleven, so if you get this, please call me back. See you."

She called Sundown next, but got no answer. She hung up after seven rings, saying to herself, "God, Sundown, invest in an answering machine! Flipping Christ!" She thought about calling Bowzer, but believed he wouldn't be at his home, either.

Suddenly, it came to her. "Maybe they're all at their headquarters, working on that shooting investigation," she said to herself. "And Bowzer must be resting in the hospital." She started towards the master bathroom. "This must be some case they're working on. Lord, but I hope this puts the Big Boss away for good. Maybe then, he and his asshats will leave me the hell alone."

"Who… are… you… talking… to,… Mom?" Jeremy asked.

"Oh, I'm just thinking aloud, Jeremy," she answered as she ran his bathwater and undressed him. "The loves of my life are working the late shift tonight, one of them being very sick. Hopefully, it'll help us get rid of that mean ol' Big Boss."

She spent twenty minutes washing him, including his hair. When he was dry and in his pajamas, she took Jeremy to his bedroom. They were in the middle of _Charlie and the Chocolate Factory_, and Valerie read a new chapter to him. She said, "I know it's a bit early, but there probably wasn't anything you really felt like doing after your bath, was there?"

Jeremy thought about it, then answered, "Not… really."

She tucked him in, kissed him goodnight, then turned out the light. She went to the living room to see what was on TV. She saw a really good sitcom, _The Playboy's Family_, wrapping up an episode. She looked disappointed; she must've missed all the really funny parts. She turned off the TV, looking a little stressed. She changed into some workout clothes and went downstairs to the exercise room.

She spent the next two hours working out, stretches and yoga for the first twenty minutes. She spent twenty-five minutes on each machine. The whole time, she was listening for the phone upstairs, but it never rang. Valerie was disappointed that her men still didn't come home, but she seemed to understand.

"At the rate they're going, they'll probably be working until midnight, maybe one in the morning," she said to herself. "And no doubt some of the others are helping them. This must be some serious police work. I'll probably go down to the headquarters tomorrow after work."

She decided to go to bed. Even if her C.O.P.S. did come home within the next few minutes, she'd still have a lot to talk about, and she didn't feel like staying up so late.

* * *

"On my way from my meeting with a new client," Valerie said the next day, "Kim confronted me about why I never called her back, and I told her she was wrong about Jeremy. Then, all this shit about how mentally challenged children should not be treated any differently from normal children, and more shit about how I was spoiling him, and she hopes Social Services take him away." 

She had stopped by the C.O.P.S. headquarters after another horrid day at work, telling her story to Highway and Barricade; the others were out on assignment. Barricade looked disgusted towards her new co-worker. "That bitch!" he exploded. "I hope you showed her your 'pride and joy' project."

"I did," she replied. She took her magazine from her briefcase, opened to her ad, and showed Highway. "I pointed Jeremy out and told her Dempsey took the ad immediately because of Jeremy. Kim had the nerve to say the ad should've been passed up, and she accused me of pushing him to do it to begin with. Then, she called me a hypocrite. I told her that Jeremy's face practically lit up when I _asked_ if he'd like to be in it. _Then_, she changed her mind, and said I did it to give him special treatment. I can't tell you how good it felt to give her Tom's address in Parrish. Those two are fucking made for each other."

"I knew this ad would be successful," Highway said, then gave the magazine back.

"Thanks," Valerie said. "Now I'm working with a couple of younger guys, Austin Manning and Josh Slann, on a graffiti billboard promoting a new video game for the Loderunner Game Company. They have a new game for the Z-Cube system based on that cartoon that came on TV last fall, _Animal Police_. It supposed to come out sometime next month." She laughed at the idea. "Mr. Lancer said this would be a good thing for me. I told them this was Jeremy's favorite show. Too bad he has such a low attention span for video games like this."

Suddenly, she thought she heard Longarm say, "That's great, Valerie. Now I'll know what to give Brian for Christmas. She turned and saw him standing with Blackbelt. She grinned and said, "Hi, guys. Uh, Blackbelt, are you going to be getting that for Jon, Mitch and Tyler?"

"Perhaps," Blackbelt said. "Just as long as they don't get too attached to it. I wouldn't want it to get in the way of their martial arts training."

She nodded and asked the C.O.P.S., "So, how's the investigation coming? Bowzer, Bullseye and Mirage should be out of the hospital by now."

"We're almost wrapping up," Barricade answered. "It took a while, but we finally got a rather defiant confession from Berserko. You should've seen how disgusted the other crooks looked."

Valerie laughed a little. "I knew Berserko was a moron from the first time I saw him. I'm so glad he's not interested in me. I'd just die."

On her way home, she remembered Sundown had a birthday coming up. It was on the eighth, the day before he and Jeremy were to leave for vacation. She remembered this as she waited at a red light, and thought of the first time he and Mace came to her house. They had also seen each other some in between her birthday and her business trip, and reminders have come up at least once or twice. She'd just been so busy to do any shopping other than groceries lately.

She decided to take Jeremy to St. Charles Place. Dinner in the food court, then search the department stores for gifts. She didn't know about Jeremy, but she was thinking maybe some inexpensive cologne, some that will enhance sexiness. She had some grocery shopping to do anyway.

* * *

Valerie spent the next two days on Royal Empire Avenue, in between City Hall and the head office building of the local Boys and Girls Club. There was a special blank "billboard" wall often used for graffiti ads, where she and her team were working with professional graffiti artists and volunteering youth, on the video game advertisement. Valerie was impressed with the way the drawing and colors were looking: a bunch of angry-looking zoo animals dressed as police officers, group together amidst the city background. The gorilla character – named George – was holding the game package out. But the headline lettering was already outlined, yet Valerie was arguing with Austin Manning about it Thursday morning. 

"'Get on the _beast_ to help fight crime,'" he said. "Valerie, I hate to break it to you, but it sounds incredibly stupid."

"Well, it certainly sounds better than, 'If only the police were this beastly,'" she replied. "Police cars are going to be driving by this on their patrols. If officers see _your_ headline, it's going to make them think they're doing an inadequate job. Bulletproof and the other C.O.P.S. would not be happy to see something like that endorsing a cop-themed video game." Austin looked like he was ready to sulk. "Look, notice how the word _beast_ in really big lettering, so it stands out."

Suddenly, a certain black limo pulled up at the billboard. Valerie was horrified to see Squeaky Kleen getting out to open the back door. She stood almost frozen. It could only mean one thing.

As soon as they saw Big Boss step out, carrying a dozen real red roses, the youth volunteers stepped away, almost running back into the Boys and Girls Club. Big Boss was grinning at Valerie, and said, "Ah, Valerie, how lovely to see you here." He tried to give her the roses, but she wouldn't accept them.

"How lovely that you'd show up in the middle of my job assignment with such a clichéd token of love," she said sarcastically. "What do you want?"

"First of all," Big Boss replied, looking at the ad, "I don't know why you would be involved with an advertisement promotin' police. Ecch! You know the life of crime is where the real action is, sweetheart."

Valerie sighed and said, "I'd expect that kind of inane comment from Berserko. First of all, it's to promote a new video game. And if you came all the way over here just to ask me out again, you're out of your goddamn mind! Give me one good reason why I should go out with you. Not only are you a criminal, but you're _not_ good-looking. You weigh about as much as a goddamn pig, your voice irritates me, and you have awful fashion sense. There are no two ways around it." She turned her back. "I'm sorry, but you're just too revolting for me to look at."

Big Boss frowned. "Yeah? Well, at least _my_ gang and I can treat you the way you wanna be treated. Those C.O.P.S. are just usin' ya fer sex. Don't think I can forget the time Buttons, Crusher and Turbo walked in on you an' Sundown doin' it. If it weren't fer–"

Valerie was shocked and degraded. She snatched the roses from Big Boss' hand, then beat him over his head with them. Petals were flying all around him onto his head and shoulders.

"Asshole!" she screamed. "How _dare_ you bring that up in front of my assignment team! I'm a fucking professional, and I do _not_ appreciate you talking about my private life while I'm working!" She turned to see some of the youth disappearing into the Boys and Girls building. "See that? I'll bet those kids have gone inside to call Bulletproof right now. Now take that limo out of here before you get yourself nailed!"

"Not a problem!" Big Boss replied. "I'll just go back to my headquarters and brainstorm wit my gang. It could be another crime scheme with Mayor Davis, then again, it could be another way to git _you_, sweet Valerie. But I will be back. Believe me." He called for Squeaky, then the assistant open the limo door for Big Boss once again. When it drove off, Valerie was standing frozen as she had been before.

Austin rubbed her shoulder. "Valerie?" he asked. "Valerie, are you okay?"

She shook her head and answered, "No. That Big Boss just tried to intimidate me."

"It sure worked," Austin said.

"This isn't love I'm feeling from him," Valerie told him. "This isn't even passion. It's madness."

"Still, we can't let this get in the way of our assignment. Mr. Lancer and the guys from Lode Runner will be coming to look at this at nine tomorrow morning."

She turned to her concerned team member. "Yeah, Austin, you're right." She turned to Josh. "Josh, will you please go get the volunteers from the club building? We have to get as much done by the end of the day." Josh nodded and rushed to the Boys and Girls Club.

* * *

Valerie left the work site at around seven that evening. She and Jeremy came home in time to miss a call. She thought she heard Mace's voice on her answering machine. She went straight to the kitchen phone, to check the caller ID. She was only interested in the last person who just called. 

Sure enough, it was Mace. Valerie picked up the phone, and it automatically dialed. After three rings, she was surprised to see him on the video screen. He looked as if he was shirtless, his body cut off at the shoulders. Still, she looked pretty interested.

"Hey, Mace," she said. "I barely caught your phone message. You look a little underdressed."

"Yeah, well, I just got outta the shower," he said. "All I got are just a pair of jeans on."

"_I _just got back from another long day of working on our graffiti ad today," she told him. "All we have left to do is put some color in the headline."

"Yeah! Longarm, Hardtop, and I saw it when we came to City Hall. It looks good." He coughed a little. "Someone called us over to the area because of the Big Boss, but he was gone when we got there. Was he harassin' ya again?"

"Yeah, that must've been one of our teenaged helpers. They all ran away when they saw him, to avoid being drafted, I guess. But that wasn't the reason he came to begin with. He was trying to ask me out on another date. He even tried to win me over with a dozen real red roses. You'd think he'd at least go for those silk ones you and everyone else gave me."

"Aw, you must be exhausted. I'm comin' over there, okay?"

"You're so sweet, Mace. I'd be delighted."

"Fine then. Just let me put on a shirt, an' I'll be over in a few minutes."

She accepted, said goodbye and hung up. She never bothered changing clothes, just took off her double-breasted jacket and heels. She vacuumed the living room quickly and dusted all the tables. Just as she finished, she heard the doorbell. She answered and saw Mace in black jeans, and white button-down shirt, untucked.

She took him in, and began to kiss him in the front hall. "You should tuck your shirt in," she whispered. "A girl just might rip it open if she's feisty enough."

Meanwhile, Nightshade was driving to Valerie's house, dressed in a trenchcoat. She had another plan to get Mace back, but got his answering machine when she called his apartment. She'd driven past C.O.P.S. headquarters to not find his vehicle in the parking lot. She'd remembered Valerie's home address from Dr. Badvibes, though she wondered if any of the other crooks had been there. Sure enough, she found Mace's car in Valerie's driveway.

She parked at the curb, and quickly got out of her car. She looked to see if anyone was around. She saw no one, so she darted over to the bushes just below her living room window. To her disgust, she saw Mace, Valerie and Jeremy playing some trivia game for kids.

Nightshade ducked behind the bushes. "So, you invite my man over just to put him in your little family," she whispered to herself. "Is that it, bitch? Well, I'm going to take care of that."

She stayed low, only to come up every five to ten minutes. Every time, it seemed like Valerie, Mace and Jeremy refused to leave to living room. The whole time, Nightshade was looking out for anyone who drove, walked or ran past the house. Anyone who drove past didn't seem to notice. However, there was a young couple who was walking their dog. The woman looked at Nightshade and said, "Excuse me, ma'am, but you're on someone else's property. I'd leave if I were you."

Nightshade crawled across the lawn to the family like a military recruit. She said, "Listen, lady, the very man I used to date not too long ago is in that house with a tramp! I'm going to sneak into the house when they're occupied, then seduce him back to me." The couple looked disturbed, and continued on their walk. Nightshade crawled back to the bushes and peeked at the living room window. Mace and Valerie still looked preoccupied, and Jeremy was jumping all over the room. He must've won the game, she guessed.

Fifteen minutes later, she peeked through the window again to see the living room empty. She let herself in as quietly as she could, removed her boots, took them as she tiptoed through the living room. She saw the bathroom light on, and overheard Valerie saying, "Okay, Jeremy, time to wash your hair. Close your eyes now."

_Perfect, she's busy_, Nightshade thought. She snuck past the hallway to the back hall, and put her shoes back on. She heard rock music playing in the basement, indicating that Mace was down there. She crept downstairs, and when Mace heard her footsteps, heard him say, "Valerie? Valerie, is that you?"

Nightshade appeared in the recreation room and took off her coat, revealing a red silk nightie. Mace was horrified. She was running her fingers through her hair, flirting lustrously.

"God, Nightshade, why won't ya leave me alone?" Mace shouted. "I told ya over an' over again we were through."

She kissed his lips forcefully, and he looked like he wanted to run. She said, "Maybe _you_ thought we were through, but I don't. Mace, can't you see the feelings I have for you? You loved me once, I know that. This love was special, rare, unique, and I want that back." She kissed his lips twice more. "I want what we had back."

"You're outta yer mind," he whispered. "If Valerie sees us…"

"Then let her see us," she insisted. "I don't think about shit like that when it comes to getting what I want." She pushed him onto he sofa and ran her hands underneath his shirt. But he still looked scared and uncomfortable.

"Nightshade, I… I don't want to do this," he said.

"Oh, what's the matter, baby?" she asked. "You used to love it when I touched all over your body."

He sat up and got up from the sofa, running to the other side of the room. "Hey, it's Valerie's touch now. Don't you understand? I'm in love with someone else. She's upstairs with Jeremy now. Please leave out the back door before she sees you."

Nightshade looking like a puppy dog begging for table scraps. "Oh, Mace, but Valerie has made you so blind to the fact that there is an old flame that still burns for you. Since you've stopped loving me, I've been so lonely. And I know deep down, you still think of me and want me."

The song Mace had been listening to had already stopped, so Nightshade went to the jukebox for a selection. She found the perfect Madonna song that identified with her feelings, _Justify My Love._ She pressed the combination for it and watched the CD position itself on the player. When the music started, she turned toward him and made "sex kitten" poses, including licking her lips, and giving the "come here" motion with her finger. Mace just stood there, so Nightshade strutted over to him as she spoke the lyrics along with Madonna.

"I wanna kiss you in Paris," Nightshade said. She placed her hands on his shoulders. "I wanna hold your hand in Rome."

As she was "singing" along, she was unbuttoning his shirt slowly, removing it. She was touching all over his chest by the time she got to the first chorus. Then, during the musical break, she kissed him in a romantic sensual manner.

"Oh, Mace, please say you'll justify _my_ love," she said. With that, she removed his socks and jeans. She wasn't singing anymore, but just staring at him, underwear-clad. She was more turned on, so she laid him down, climbed onto the sofa on her knees, and laid on top of him. She put her hands between his arms and waist, rubbing his back.

But she had been the one making all the moves. She said, "Oh, come on Mace, you're not even trying."

"Nightshade, I don't wanna…" he protested.

"Dammit!" she mused. "You're still thinking about Valerie, aren't you?" Then she realized her song had ended, so she said, "I have just the thing."

She went back to the jukebox for another selection. She chose something faster, Cathy Dennis' _All Night Long (Touch Me)_. As the music started up, she started to dance around the room like a burlesque dancer. She was looking sexy as she lip-synched, and Mace was getting interested. She never took off her nightie, though. When she got to the first occurrence of, "_Baby, let your conscious go_," Nightshade brought him up from the sofa, and they started dirty dancing. She was pressed up against his back, her arms around him, groping his chest. She turned him around, and they were looking into each other's eyes. She was still lip-synching.

Just then, they heard Valerie from the stairs, "Hey, whose coat is this?" She rushed to the recreation room to catch something shocking to her.

"Nightshade!" she gasped. "How in the hell did you get in here! I never heard you come in! And what the hell are you doing with my date!"

"Winning his love back, what do you think?" Nightshade spat. "I still love this big man here, and I am determined to make him mine again. He'd already be into me if it weren't for you, you little slut!"

"Slut!" Valerie repeated. "_Slut!_ You sneak into my house, you take off your clothes to reveal an outfit sexier than mine, you strip my date to his underwear for your own desires, you're bumping and grinding with him to some sexy fast-dance song – what the hell is that playing, anyway – and _I'm_ the slut!"

She picked up the trenchcoat and threw it at Nightshade, then turned the song off. "Hit the road, you little bitch, before I call Bulletproof and have you arresting for breaking and entering!"

"Fuck you!" Nightshade spat. "Mace is leaving with me _tonight_!"

Immediately, Valerie ran upstairs to the kitchen phone. She quickly dialed C.O.P.S. headquarters and waited rather feverishly. She heard Mirage answer, but she didn't care. She just said, "Yes, I have an emergency. That jewel thief, Nightshade, broke into my house and has been cavorting with my date."

She heard footsteps running upstairs, and was horrified to see a vengeful Nightshade, poised to attack her. Nightshade snatched the receiver and hung up. She pushed Valerie all the way to the kitchen counters on the other side. Mace arrived shortly thereafter – having put his clothes back on – and ran over to separate the women. But Nightshade's on Valerie's upper arms was too tight, and she was shaking her violently.

"Stop it, Nightshade!" he yelled. "You're hurtin' Valerie!"

Nightshade let go just to throw herself around Mace, and hold him so tight, he could feel his blood circulation cut off in his chest. She screamed, "Mace! Mace, please take me back! I love you! I have to have you! Oh, Mace, I know you still love me just the same! Please say it! You don't love Valerie over there, you just want to suck her tits!"

He was squirming, and finally pushed her away. "No!" he insisted. "Nightshade, what don't ya get? There's no way you can really reform yourself. I was blind to that all along. An' I just want to tell ya–"

Just then, they heard several of his colleagues rush into the house to the kitchen. Longarm aimed his power cuff at Nightshade and declared, "Freeze, Nightshade! You're under arrest!" She threw her hands up, but he activated his cuff to get at her right wrist. She was immediately reeled in like a fish on a rod.

"No!" she yelled. "Mace, please say something! Save me!"

But Mace already finished his statement. "–I don't wanna see ya anymore."

Longarm took her away, but she was crying instead of screaming. Mirage and Bulletproof went up to Mace and Valerie, and she said, "Valerie, Mace, could either of you tell us what happened here?"

"Easy," answered Valerie. "I told Mace to go downstairs and entertain himself, while I got Jeremy ready for bed. I never heard Nightshade come into my house–"

Mace stopped her and said, "Lemme explain it, sweetness." He cleared his throat and turned to Mirage. "I heard footsteps comin' downstairs, and thought it was Valerie. I was shocked to see Nightshade. She had on this lusty red number, and I knew I was her prey." Then, he got into the more provocative details. He hoped this wouldn't end up as gossip in the headquarters coffee room.

* * *

At eight-thirty the next morning, Mace drove Valerie to Royal Empire – and the completed graffiti billboard. He whistled at it and declared, "Beautiful, Valerie! I think maybe I'll go out an' buy the game fer all my nephews." 

She laughed and kissed him. "Thanks, Mace," she said. "I'm so glad the concept of zoo animals as cops has drawn _you_ in." She kissed him again. "And I'm glad you decided to stay the night and take Jeremy to your work. You understood I had to get up really early, right?

"It's the least I could do," he grinned.

She went to the back to kiss Jeremy goodbye. Mace was taking him to breakfast, then to the headquarters again. When they left, she examined the billboard again. She was attracted to the "night in the city" background, but most of all, the headline. It was all in yellow except for the largely-lettered word _beast_; that was in red.

She pointed at that and said, "Now _that's_ what I call standing out." She went to meet Austin and Josh, and the professional graffiti artists. Austin surprised her with a ham and egg muffin for breakfast. She accepted and said, "I like how you think about team morale, Austin."

At nine o'clock exactly, a gray limo pulled up, and out stepped Mr. Lancer with Mark Handel, advertising manager from Lode Runner Games. Handel looked interested and impressed, and he talked it over with his associates. After Valerie explained the ad, and how her team contributed, Handel said, "Well, Ms. Boston, we believe that this ad captures the spirit of both the _Animal Police_ cartoon and the game itself. You have the whole main cast of good guys in their 'ready to fight crime' characters, and we love your decision to have old George Gorilla holding out the game for all to notice." He smiled at the headline. "'Get on the beast to help fight crime.' That is sure to draw the kids in. You sure captured the target audience there. Just out of curiosity, though – are those first four words supposed to be a play for 'Get on the _beat_?'"

Valerie nodded. "It is."

"Well, I like how you think, Ms. Boston," Handel replied. His associates were now setting up a camera. "We're impressed by your work, but it all depends on what the public thinks. So what we're going to do is we're setting up this camera to the TV in the limo. We're going to flag down some passers-by, show them this ad, and get their reactions. If you and your associates will follow Mr. Lancer and myself." Valerie, Austin and Josh followed the two businessmen.

They turned on the TV in time for the ad to be shown on the screen. The picture was in black and white, but it didn't matter. It was the public's reaction to the colors that mattered.

A few minutes into it, they saw a young African-American male come into view. After one thorough look at the ad, he was asked some questions. He answered, "This looks super fresh! The characters are so life-like, and the nighttime look makes it look extra good. And that caption up there, _get on the beast_. The beast, man, that is fly. Of course I'm goin' to be buyin' this when it comes out. I can't wait!" Valerie and her team cheered as he left the camera.

Next, a mother with dark hair came on with her two pre-teen sons. One of the boys immediately said, "Wow, Mom, how awesome is that. Can we please get this for our Z-Cube?" Valerie smiled, thinking of Jeremy then. Then the boys' mother said, "Well, the concept is very different and interesting. Certainly captures my eye. I've never seen animals dressed up like police officers before this. Luckily, these two love that show so much. They always get up quite early on Saturdays for this one." After another question, she said, "I think I'll get this for them." Valerie shrieked in victory again, for a second approval.

Many other passers-by who were teenagers and parents also gave positive responses. The only negative ones came from three couples. One of them couldn't relate because they had no children to give the game to. Two more objected because of the video game's violence factor. One disapproving mother loudly protested, "This very advertisement only endorses the type of violent trash that is harming our kids. This is exactly what I've been fighting to rid Empire City of for years. Let me say that I will not be driving down this street until that is painted over!"

_Fuck off, you stupid conservative whore!_ Valerie wanted to say. But she kept her lips firmly together. She didn't want to sound un-businesslike during a meeting. After an hour and a half, the camera shut off and Handel smiled.

"Well, except for that one conservative woman who needs to lighten up," he said, "it seems the people think the ad is cool-looking enough to boost video game sales. Congratulations, Ms. Boston."

Valerie, Austin and Josh gave more victorious shrieks and hugged each other. Mr. Lancer quieted them down and said, "For the second part of this assignment, you – Austin and Josh – will create a print ad for this very game, to be placed in comic books and 'gaming' magazines. You will start on this when you get to the agency. Send it to Valerie for approval, and I will expect it on my desk by the end of Monday." They nodded and left the limo.

Soon after, Valerie asked Austin, "Is it okay if you could drive me to work? You saw me come here in someone else's car."

"Sure," he said. "For all the good work, it'd by all my pleasure." They both walked to his car.

* * *

"Mmm, that was a wonderful meal you brought over fer me," Sundown said to Valerie the next evening. "It was so sweet of ya to go to all the trouble." He kissed her. 

She and Jeremy were over at Sundown's apartment celebrating his birthday. She had made a stroganoff casserole made with stewing beef and boneless chicken, and ordered a chocolate ice cream cake to be delivered at eight o'clock. She had also helped Jeremy pack a suitcase, because he and Sundown would be leaving for the airport from the apartment.

Sundown and Valerie stacked the dishes next to the kitchen, the she scooped the rest of the dinner into a container she brought along with her. "We're not doing any dishes until we've had some cake," she said. "No sense if there's going to more to do later on." She retrieved three smaller plates from the cupboards, and a cake-cutting knife from a drawer.

There was half an hour before the cake was to arrive, so Sundown put on a CD of romantic country music. He sat down with Valerie and started to cuddle.

"You've made this the best birthday I've ever had, Valerie," he said softly. "Thank you. I'm so happy to have you over here."

"Well, you really wouldn't have wanted to celebrate at my place," she said. "When I had mine, I was surprised that Mom and Karen had come over. I figured that with you guys and my whole family there, I thought I couldn't handle the full house." She started laughing. "I still can't get that scene of twenty people in my living room out of my head, all of you watching me open my presents, and that cake damn near took up the whole coffee table, remember. But it was that scene that made me realize that it would be foolish to celebrate _my_ birthday in anyone's home but mine."

She picked up a taped bag from the floor beside her. "And speaking of presents, this is all for you. From myself and Jeremy."

He broke the tape and opened, and looked both surprised and happy. "Valerie!" he cried. "Wild Stallion cologne and aftershave!"

"The person at the store said it's supposed to make you smell sexy," she said.

"And a box of autumn-smellin' potpourri, with a Aztec-designed pot!" he added. "Oh, is this from Jeremy? Oh, but this'll look so nice right here in the livin' room. Thank you both!" Jeremy climbed up onto Sundown to hug him first, then Sundown kissed Valerie's lips, chin and neck.

She giggled and said, "Well, I thought a cowboy like yourself can only deserve things that match up with your Western roots, right?" Instead of answering, he kissed her neck more passionately. She laughed harder and said, "Slow down, cowboy! There's a child present!"

Sundown looked over at Jeremy, who was looking blankly at them. _Perhaps he already understands,_ she thought. _But still, it wouldn't be so good with him there._

Soon after, they heard the doorbell. Valerie excused herself and said, "Oh, that must be the cake I ordered." She went through her purse, and retrieved twenty dollars from her wallet. When she opened the door, she was greeted with a frozen chocolate cake, ten inches in round diameter. It had a picture of a cactus and sunset in a big light brown "rock fixture" with _Happy Birthday, Sundown_ around the edge. The delivery person took her money, and Valerie said, "That's good."

"Aw, Valerie, you shouldn't have!" Sundown replied.

"I thought of baking one myself," she said, "but a look at the coupons said this was more special."

She put the cake in the middle of the table, and lifted the plastic dome. She cut it into six equal pieces, two servings for three each. She asked, "So tell me, Sundown, what time tomorrow are you leaving with my son?"

"Our plane leave at ten in the mornin'," he answered, "so I reckon it's best if we get up at seven, so we can be there by nine." He touched her hand. "Doncha worry none, darlin'. I already started my packin' when I got home from my day shift."

"Jeremy already finished his," Valerie bragged.

Sundown looked at the boy, eating his piece at a rather moderate pace, and the half of cake that remained. "Sure hope Jeremy can handle another piece," he said. "I already told Mama she shouldn't feed him so much when we go to visit."

"Speaking of which," Valerie said, "How'd she react when you told her I wasn't coming along?" She tried to mimic his mother's voice. _"Sundown! What kind of gentleman doesn't bring his lady with him on his vacation?"_

He laughed and replied, "And I told her, 'The type of gentleman whose lady has to stay behind to work.' I can't tell you how quickly Mama understood. Luckily, I sent her pictures of you, so she at least knows what ya look like."

When Jeremy finished his second piece, and used the bathroom, Sundown and Valerie decided that he should go to bed a little early. Sundown volunteered, "I'll tuck him in g'night, darlin'. Call it a part of my fatherly duty. Then we can see about these dishes." He took his cologne and aftershave to put in the bathroom. "Why doncha fill up the sink? I'll be right back."

"Just put him in his pajamas, okay?" she called. "We can have sleep out on the sofa here!"

Minutes later, they came back out, Jeremy in his "sports balls" pajamas. Sundown handed Valerie some blankets, and they made up a sleeping area for the boy. Valerie said to her birthday boyfriend, "You know, this obviously means that we'll have to go to bed ourselves. So you can wash, I'll dry, then we can listen to a few more songs before we go ourselves." He nodded, and she turned up the music, loud enough to hear from the kitchen, without having complaints from other dwellers.

By the time they were finished, Jeremy had already fallen asleep. Sundown tucked him in and kissed his forehead. Valerie smiled and said, "You really good with him, you know that? Just as good as Barricade, in fact."

In the bathroom, Sundown took his shirt off, and applied both the cologne and aftershave on his neck and chest. He slowly walked to his bedroom door and knocked. Valerie never answered, so he opened. She was standing near his bed in her bra and panties, yet the smell of the birthday gift she gave him had her moving towards the doorway where he stood.

They made out until they fell upon his bed. He let go of her so he could strip off his jeans, boots and socks. He pulled the bedspread back and brought her over to the pillows. When they were settled, they started getting passionate again. No words were ever exchanged, just faint moaning, the occasional squeaking of bed springs, and the kissing on each other's chests. It was the smoothest lovemaking Valerie ever had.

Sundown's alarm clock chimed at seven the next morning, and he once again volunteered to take care of Jeremy and get him ready. Valerie volunteered to pack a travel bag for him. Two hours later, after a small breakfast, Valerie was driving Sundown and Jeremy to the airport.


	19. While Sundown And Jeremy Are Away

**A/N:** Here I am, back again. Whew, but what a long chapter. This replaces Chapter 2 as most difficult one to write. First off, apart from Longarm's son, father, and possibly wife (aka: "Elise" in this one,) little is known about the families of the C.O.P.S. (re: Sundown and Jeremy's first vacation scene here). So I don't know if I can call them OC's or borrowed characters. Also, pending to the vacation scenes, I had to research both the Alamo and the Grand Canyon on Google. A chockful of information, too. Now, I know it's better to visit these places, and experience them, and blah, blah, blah, but if you can't afford to physically travel, the Internet makes a great research tool. Research, research, research, that's what I want to encourage of all writers, fanfiction or otherwise. Anyway, read and review.

* * *

Chapter 19

The day Sundown and Jeremy left for vacation, Big Boss was sitting at his desk, pondering. He was thinking about how frightened the boy looked when he stared at his face. Yet, Big Boss believed Jeremy would be the perfect pawn to get to Valerie.

"Augh!" he griped. "If only we can lure that kid of hers into our territory, and think of some ways to amuse him, we can easily persuade Valerie to throw those C.O.P.S. over for any one of us. Hopefully, she'll choose me."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Big Boss," Dr. Badvibes said. "You will remember from my own unsuccessful attempt to woo her that she's said romancing one of us will look very bad to him. And the sight of us frightens that boy so. We all saw how perplexed he looked when he came with the C.O.P.S. to get her. The only way we can succeed is if we pretend to be nice and trustworthy to him." He started to grin. "And I think I can pull that off better than the rest of you. I'm sure he'll enjoy an afternoon field trip to the science museum. How about the rest of you?"

Buttons, Crusher, Turbo Tu-Tone and the Big Boss all looked at each other. They never had any ideas. Then suddenly, the Sunday newspaper arrived at the office. Normally, Big Boss would look at the local news first, but he decided to search through all the advertisements for anything fun. In the back of the first section, he noticed that the State Fair would be held in Empire City from August 13th to the 19th.

"Ahh, this is perfect!" he declared. "Young Jeremy will enjoy himself a day at the fair."

"Gee, Unca Big Boss," Berserko said, "ya think you'll fit on all da rides?"

Big Boss swatted him with the paper and responded, "Shaddup, you nincompoop! I was thinkin' that we'll all take him, spend time with him individually, and make him choose between us. Then whomever he chooses will be successful in winnin' Valerie's love. And, again I'll say, it will be me."

"Don't be so sure of y'self, Big Boss," Buttons warned. "I can outride you on anythin'. He'll be havin' the most fun wit me." He looked at all the others glaring at him.

"That sounded very snobby, even fer you, Buttons," Crusher commented.

Big Boss was looking through the phone under the "B" section, but couldn't find Valerie's name. "Dammit," he mused. "What the hell is her phone number? Blast, but I wish I'd gotten it when she kicked me outta her house two weeks ago." And then it came to him. "What am I thinkin' about? I don't need her number. Boys, we're gonna pay a visit to her place tonight."

* * *

Meanwhile, when they arrived in Houston, an older man and a younger woman greeted Sundown and Jeremy. The man's hair was almost all white, and his skin was as wrinkly as a raisin. Jeremy inwardly guessed that he was in his mid-seventies. The woman had chestnut-colored hair, and both people had lighter-tanned skin. The woman reminded Jeremy a little bit of his Aunt Rhonda. 

Sundown smiled at his family as he went to them. "Papa!" he called. "Lynette!"

"Hey, big brother!" Lynette replied as they embraced. "Happy belated birthday!"

Mr. Calhoun embraced his son, then turned to Jeremy. "And this must be Jeremy," he said. "Oh, I can't believe all the things you told yer mama an' me about him. This poor boy probably can't do very much, can he?" He turned back to Sundown. "You say his birth father was responsible fer this? That man should be in prison, not free to run a home an' business in Anytown, USA."

Sundown immediately wanted to talk about something else. "You ain't ever said you were comin' to the airport to git me. Now I knew this was Sunday, an' I told Jeremy before we took off that we may be goin' to your house fer dinner."

"Well, just because yer flyin' in on a Sunday," Mr. Calhoun said, "it don't mean we're breakin' family tradition."

"An' speakin' of which," Sundown continued, "we should maybe check into the hotel I reserved, the Happelin, before we go. It's this new one on Fannin Street, ever heard of it? I was attracted to the inexpensive price, about forty bucks per night. An' the best part is this one has a 'kids stay free' deal all summer. Then, I rented a truck fer this whole trip–"

"You can tell 'em to put it on hold until you get back later tonight," his father insisted. "I ain't lettin' ya drive in a separate vehicle from yer family."

Sundown and Jeremy checked into the Happelin, and were impressed by the room they received. Two single beds, and a 20-inch TV across from them, with television and cable movie guides. Beside the bed Jeremy immediately chose, he saw a wooden desk with a lamp and a laptop, probably used for Internet access. There was a lighting fixture above each bed, and in between them, a small set of drawers with a non-video telephone. Across from Sundown's bed was an easychair with a leather surface end table next to it, consisting of another lamp with a bowl of wrapped candy. Jeremy looked back and forth between the telephone and the laptop. "Sundown!" he called. "How… do… you… want to… contact… Mom?"

Sundown set his suitcase on his own bed. "I reckon maybe we should give yer mama a call when we git to my parents' house," he said. "Now let's go. Papa an' my sister are waitin'."

Next, Sundown gave his father directions to Heinrich Car Rental. When they arrived, Sundown told the counter clerk where he was going, and gave his request for his rental. "I reckon I'll be back sometime between ten-thirty an' eleven. Can ya put it on hold 'til then?"

"Not a problem, sir," the clerk replied, typing the request in.

It was a half-hour drive to the town where Sundown grew up. On the way there, he was saying to his father, "Now, Papa, there may be some things I probably haven't told ya 'bout Jeremy. First, Mama's still cookin' quite a bit for Sunday dinners, ain't she? Well, his stomach ain't all that big, so maybe you should tell her–"

"Oh, Sundown, now yer mama will be upset if Jeremy don't eat enough of her cookin'," Mr. Calhoun replied. "We'll just encourage him to take as much time as he needs. Two hours, if necessary. One servin' an' no dessert. I'm sure yer girlfriend will agree."

"An' there another thing you must keep in mind. Jeremy will probably misbehave some of the time, so–"

"I can probably guess that Jeremy shouldn't be whipped at all," Mr. Calhoun finished. "Your mama an' I will be receptive to that, but I don't know about your brother an' his wife. You know how quick they are to paddle their kids when the need be."

"They'd better not tell him to eat so fast," Sundown said. "If I have to tell Valerie that Jeremy got upset over critical elders, she'll dump me harder than a tumbleweed." He proceeded to tell about Valerie's family reunion, and how she didn't want Jeremy to be there because of her cousins. "That's why she insisted on this trip."

"Well, I reckon it's good that he's here wit you, son."

In the back, Jeremy stared at Lynette and asked, "Do… you… have a… husband?"

"I do have a husband," she answered. "I live with him an' our three kids in Houston. They're attendin' church this mornin' an' they should be out very soon. They'll be joinin' us later today." Then, Jeremy started moving his head around in front of her, so she called, "Sundown! Jeremy's movin' his head around all of a sudden. How do I make him stop?"

"Just leave him be," Sundown answered. "Valerie said that his neck muscles aren't so good, so he'll do that. He'll stop by himself after a while." Jeremy kept moving his head until they arrived at the Calhoun house.

Lynette took the boy into the house for Sundown, and the four of them found it empty. The kitchen clock read ten minutes after noon. There were pots and pans set out on the counters, and a roast beef and turkey thawing in water in the sink. "Looks like yer mama decided to go to the market after church," Mr. Calhoun said. "Sundown, maybe you should wait until she gits home before ya call yer girl." He looked at the Sunday paper on the dining table. "Why don't you two read the funnies to Jeremy while you wait. I'll fix up some grilled cheese fer lunch."

Sundown and Lynette read two comics to Jeremy each when their mother came home, carrying a paper bag with vegetables. Just as they were about to greet her, she noticed Jeremy and went past them. She pinched his cheeks and said, "Aw, an' this must be the lil' boy you told me about, Walker. He looks so sweet." She turned to her son. "Too bad yer girlfriend didn't git her vacation leave; I still think you should've brought her wit ya. What does she do again?"

"Valerie's in advertisin'," Sundown replied.

Mrs. Calhoun looked at Jeremy again, and said, "I reckon I've seen this boy before." She retrieved the current month's issue of _South West Woman_ magazine, and searched through it. She found it in the recipes section, that new Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs ad. "I knew it! This is the same boy in this cereal ad."

Sundown and Lynette took the magazine and read it for themselves. "Yeah, Valerie showed me that while she had my birthday dinner in the oven yesterday," he said. "Did it all by herself. Told me it was the highlight of her career. An' speakin' of which…" He went to the living room to call Valerie.

He waited through three rings when she answered. He saw her smile on the video screen and said, "Hey, Valerie. Just wanted to let ya know Jeremy and I arrived here safe."

"Where are you?" Valerie asked. "It doesn't look like you're at your hotel."

"Aw, we checked in 'bout forty minutes ago," Sundown replied. "My dad an' sister picked us up from the airport. We're at my parents' house. Her husband and kids are due to come any time now, an' my brother and his family will be comin' later this afternoon."

"Sundown!" his father called. "Is that yer girlfriend on the phone?"

"Let us talk to her!" his mother added.

"That's them," Sundown told Valerie. "Here's yer chance to meet 'em, an' Lynette. I'll put 'em all on." Seconds later, the three of them gathered around the phone. "Hi ya!"

"You must be Valerie Boston!" Mrs. Calhoun gushed, then introduced herself, her husband and daughter. "Our Walker's told us so much about ya."

"Ma'am, you must be the only one who still calls him Walker," Valerie laughed. "I think I'd laugh my ass off if I had to call him that, should we be married. I don't want to be rude, but why don't you call him Sundown, like everyone else?"

"Believe me, honey," Mr. Calhoun said, "I've been tryin' to git her to do that ever since he first got that name from the C.O.P.S. team. But she still won't do it, 'cuz she still sees him as her lil' boy."

"So, Sundown tells us you're in advertisin'," Lynette said. "What exactly do you do?"

"I've been project manager at Lancer and Sussex Agency's main branch since moving here to Empire City," Valerie answered. "Before, I used to just work on various project teams, now I lead them. I've worked with Lancer and Sussex my whole career. When I separated from my husband – whom I _won't_ talk about, so don't even bring him up – I threw myself into this work, and my old boss was so impressed with my efforts. I've only been here for two-and-a-half months. And I don't want to brag, but I've had a flawless record as PM so far."

Mrs. Calhoun showed Valerie the infamous cereal ad in her magazine. "The lil' boy in this piece looks so much like Jeremy," she said. "I hear you were responsible for this."

"I was," Valerie replied. She told about her recent business trip, and the commercials and cereal box photo shoot. "Jeremy's going to be shown all over the country by this fall, at the latest."

"Well, we still think you should've came out here with Walker," Mrs. Calhoun said. "After all that work, you've obviously earned y'self a vacation."

_Boy, have I ever_, Valerie thought. But she said, "Well, remember it's only been two-and-a-half months. My new bosses agree that I've earned a vacation, but they think the timing is too soon."

"There's another thing we'd like to ask, if ya don't mind," Lynette said. "Sundown's also mentioned there's some competition between him an' other men from his C.O.P.S. team fer yer hand. I hope he's been treatin' ya nicely; we already think you're such a flower."

"He has, Lynette," Valerie said. She stopped herself suddenly. She didn't want to reveal how many times she and Sundown had sex. "At my birthday party three weeks ago, the whole competition showed up at my house, and Sundown gave me this beautiful diamond necklace I'm wearing. I've worn this to work almost every day." She had a thought and chuckled. "And speaking of my birthday, it was a perfect opportunity for Sundown to meet my whole family. And here I am, meeting you all over the phone. It's so weird. Now I wish I had come out there with him and Jeremy. It would've been so nice to do this in person."

* * *

Valerie spent another fifteen minutes talking with the Calhoun family before speaking with Sundown and Jeremy. She said to Sundown, "I'm so glad you got in all right. Take good care of yourself. Why don't you call me in a couple of evenings?" 

"Sure thing, darlin'," Sundown replied.

She said to Jeremy, "Jeremy, try to behave the best you can at the house, okay? And don't eat too much."

"My mama will see to that eatin' thing," Sundown assured Valerie. Then each puckered up and kissed their telephones. When she hung up, she heard the doorbell. She was disgusted to see Big Boss and his gang.

"God, how many times do I have to kick you out of my house before you get the message?" she sighed.

"Now, Valerie, is that any way to talk to a potential suitor?" Big Boss replied.

"What do you guys want?"

He barely got himself through her front door. He looked all over the living room. "Yer right, Buttons, Crusher, Turbo," he said. "It _is_ a beautiful livin' room."

Big Boss went over to the sofa, but Valerie stopped him. "I don't want you to destroy this thing!" she insisted. "Now why did you and your followers come here?"

"Well, I was just thinkin' 'bout yer boy this mornin'," he said, "an' I thought maybe my men an' I can do somethin' special with him."

"Like what?"

"Well, whatcha up to this weekend?"

"Family reunion at Empire City Park." Valerie rolled her eyes, immediately thinking about her cousins. "I swear, if anyone tries to antagonize me about my son…"

"Cheer up. Didja know the State Fair is in town this Thursday? It's here for an entire week, see? An' I'm guessin' there'll be lots of kiddies there."

"Yeah, lots of kids at the reunion," Valerie replied. _But Jeremy won't be among them_. "As for this State Fair, I may have seen it on the TV ads a few times, but otherwise, I've been a bit busy to think about it. I'm sure my Aunt Margaret has, though, and will probably want to take everyone there on Sunday as a surprise. I'll call her later tonight." She indeed looked nervous.

"Well, I was thinkin' maybe my men an' I could take young Jeremy there perhaps next Monday or Tuesday," Big Boss proposed. "We can take turns accompanyin' him on all the rides, and play loads of midway games wit him, see? It'll be the time of his life. Then afterwards, we can ask him which one he wants–"

"To date me!" Valerie finished. "Well, maybe this is the perfect time to tell you all that Jeremy just left town this morning, and will be away for the next two weeks. Sundown took him for a little bonding vacation. Just the two of them. So you're out of luck, big time!"

Big Boss and his gang looked at her with wide eyes. "WHAT!" he screamed. "Sundown! That cowboy copper! Blast, but I've been beaten out – AGAIN!"

"Would this be a bad time to mention that Jeremy will also be going on a bonding trip with Barricade at the end of this month?" Valerie asked.

Big Boss slapped his forehead and groaned. "Well, that's just great, woman! You let yer own son to skip town wit men you've only known fer a coupla months! I'm gonna crash yer lil' reunion an' tell everyone what a shitty mother you are. Ya don't know what they're capable of. They could molest the poor boy or somethin'."

Valerie looked shocked, sickened, and immediately slapped Big Boss. "Mother_fucker_!" she screamed. "How dare you even _suggest_ that with these good guys and my child! I'll have you know that Jeremy loved them from his first sight! I know _I _did! They may have been strangers at first, but Jeremy seems to trust them more than he _ever_ did his father! You should be ashamed of yourselves for even thinking that kind of shit!"

She went to the door and opened it swiftly. "Leave my home now! All of you! You're not welcome in my life or Jeremy's! At least the C.O.P.S. love us more than you ever could! And yes, I _will_ let the door hit your ass on the way out!" Wordlessly and disgusted, the gang walked out, all glaring at her on the way. She slammed the door when the last one, Big Boss, stepped outside. She thought she heard a thud, and Big Boss complaining about his rear end hurting. But she didn't care. She closed the curtains, so she wouldn't even see the limo drive off.

* * *

At dinner that evening, Jeremy was eating only three bites of turkey, and half a forkful of mashed potatoes, at a time. After twenty minutes, his plate was only half-empty. He had eaten his peas and corn first. The Calhouns were trying to talk amongst themselves, but instead, had been arguing with Sundown's conservative older brother, Chuck, and his wife, Gloria, who were sitting across from Jeremy. They'd been lecturing him throughout the whole meal. 

"Eat faster, Jeremy, dammit!" she barked. "There ain't no reason for you to go as slow as that!"

"An' stop starin' at yer damn plate an' look up!" her husband added. "How many times d'ya have to be told?"

Sundown and Lynette were staring at Jeremy. His fork was wobbling as his body shook. His eyes were shut as he was near crying.

"Don't make me use my wooden spoon on you two!" Mrs. Calhoun lectured at them. "Walker an' I told ya as soon as y'all arrived – Jeremy's got severe mental challenges, one of them bein' a tiny stomach! Ya think he can eat so much in one sittin'? An' he may not be able to finish that! Why, that plate will be eighty percent gone before he declares himself full. He ain't gonna have no room for no dessert fer awhile. Why, when we spoke to his mama, she told us he don't generally eat that much."

"That ain't no excuse for him to be so tardy!" Gloria said. "We would never put up with this from any of our kids. You wouldn't either. Look, most of us are already done, and he's still sitting there, nibblin' at small pieces of turkey! I'll betcha his serving's stone cold by now!"

"You should be glad he's eatin' like that," Lynette said. "He's actually settin' a good example fer your children. My God, _they_ eat like the food's gonna run away from them!"

Jeremy was still chewing the two pieces of turkey he forced into his mouth. Chuck pounded on the table and yelled, "Swallow! And start chewin' wit yer mouth closed!"

"Quit yer harpin'!" Sundown demanded. "You've been on him since before dinner even started! Give him a damn break!"

"Y'know, we warned Valerie about you two," Mr. Calhoun said.

"Sundown! Dad!" Chuck snapped back. "He needs to learn some manners an' respect! How will he learn if we don't–"

"He can't learn very much thanks to his heavy brain damage," Sundown said. "Not if yer yellin' at him like that all the time! I thought I told ya that when I was tellin' 'bout this!"

"Sundown, that's a load of bull!" Gloria insisted. "I've worked with children like him in my teachin' career. I know that a sharp tongue an' an occasional whack can git kids like this one to cooperate."

"Gloria, how often were these kids shaken as lil' babies?" Sundown asked. "D'ya even know what happens when you shake a baby? They come out worse than even children wit polio!"

Five minutes later, Jeremy had finished his turkey, and left half a serving of potatoes. He looked up at everyone and weakly announced, "I'm done."

"No, you ain't, young man!" Gloria snapped. "You still got some of yer potatoes left. Finish them off before you leave the table."

Jeremy screamed as if he was starting to cry. He yelled loudly, "I SAID… I'M… DONE! I CAN'T… EAT… ANY… MORE! MY… STOMACH… IS TOO… FULL! I WANT… TO BE… _EXCUSED!_"

Chuck slammed his hand on the table, pushed himself out of his chair, and picked up a paddle in the corner of the dining area. His two older children, twenty-two and eighteen, sensed what was going to happen, as did Lynette. She helped her nephews keep Chuck away, as Sundown shielded the frightened Jeremy.

"Lemme through, Lynette!" Chuck yelled. "Boys, let go of me! That kid needs to be taught a lesson, disabilities or none!" Lynette immediately took her angry brother into the living room, while Mrs. Calhoun took Jeremy from Sundown, and took him and Lynette's young children downstairs to play in the basement.

But he wasn't interested in playing with them much. Upstairs, the adults were yelling so loud, he could still hear a bit with his bad ears. He could only pick up various bits, though. Mrs. Calhoun talking about messages sent through spanking that would, "crash an' fall from Jeremy's head." Gloria's voice saying something about giving "this Valerie woman tips," probably on how to discipline Jeremy effectively. He couldn't make out what Sundown was saying, but he could hear Chuck's voice yelling all over the house, "_Yer girlfriend is a fuckin' spineless idiot!_" Jeremy was horrified, and started crying loudly enough to not hear the rest.

Lynette's children took Jeremy in a spare bedroom to calm him down. The argument upstairs became nothing more than just muffled screaming. They were playing with a travel game of snakes and ladders. They were just about finished the first game when they noticed Jeremy was starting to enjoy himself. After two more, Mr. Calhoun came in and announced, "Children, yer Uncle Chuck an' Aunt Gloria just left. Yer Grandma insisted that the cousins stay the night, an' she an' I will be takin' 'em back in the mornin'."

Lynette's nine-year-old daughter asked, "Grandpa, what did Uncle Chuck say?"

"Well, darlin," Mr. Calhoun said, "he's made it clear that he don't like yer Uncle Sundown wit Jeremy's mama, an' he told Uncle Sundown he'll be outta his life fer good should they be wed."

Jeremy was just staring into oblivion for a few minutes. Then he started to quiver, and sob a little. He and Sundown were just starting to get closer, now he felt as if the family wanted to tear them apart.

* * *

"Oh, come on, Barricade," Valerie said. "Mayor Davis would never approve of a project like that. Not if what I'm hearing is true." 

She and Barricade were having dinner at Manchu Chong's Restaurant two evenings later. He was explaining more about the plan Bulletproof created with their Commissioner Highwater, to put a crackdown on youth and organized crime, to increase street patrols in looking out for gang activity, to increase school liaisons to inform students about the dangers of crime come the new school year, and most importantly, to put Big Boss and his gang behind bars for good. Valerie didn't think it would ever happen.

"He has to, Valerie," Barricade said. "That is, if he understands what's good for Empire City. After what happened to Bowzer, Bullseye and Mirage, we just have to say enough is enough."

"But do you know how much it's going to cost?" Valerie asked. "Between putting volunteer officers on extra shifts and recruiting new ones to get enough manpower, investing in all new weapons and gear, publicity, and whatever else you need, it's going to cost over two million dollars. Do you think the mayor is going to want to spend that much money?"

"Well, Bulletproof and Highwater will do all they can to talk him into it," he answered.

She finished eating a chicken ball and another bite of spring roll. "Barricade, get real. He's probably going to want to find out what the Big Boss' next move is. Rhonda's been bitching about this when I talk to her lately. She says Davis is so submissive to this asshole's plans, and that all he cares about is keeping costs low to build his own political ego. She thinks this man should be impeached. And this has been a hot topic at work, thanks to Cindy, Elise and Teresa."

Suddenly, she saw Teresa enter the dining area with a strange man, someone Valerie never met before. She guessed it was a blind date. "And speaking of which…" Teresa saw her, smiled and waved. Valerie smiled naturally and waved back. She decided not to worry. After all, Teresa just saw them having dinner together. This probably won't go around the workplace tomorrow. She hoped, anyway.

She turned back to Barricade. "Besides, I don't think the Big Boss will try anything funny on Empire City for a while. He's been after me again. But this time, he's been more interested in Jeremy. He and his cronies wanted to take him to the State Fair that's coming to town, and make him decide between them. Can you believe that?"

"I can, but I don't want to," Barricade answered.

"And you should've seen how pissed he got when I told him Jeremy already left with Sundown on vacation. I tell you, this guy is obsessed with me." The waitress came by, and Valerie ordered more tea. "And, in thinking of Sundown, we should get back to my place after the movie. I told him to call me tonight."

Barricade gave a disapproving look, and Valerie sighed. She'd forgotten one very important rule for objects of competitive love – you don't loudly think about another competitor when you're on a date with someone. The date will feel like he's taken a back seat. "Oh, God, I'm so sorry, Barricade."

"This was probably before you made this date with me, wasn't it?" he asked. She didn't answer, just stuffed her cheeks with Chinese rice and noodles.

She decided to take him back to her place after the movie anyway. She suggested, "Just make yourself comfortable on the sofa. I'll go and make us some vanilla milkshakes."

"I'd love that, honey," he replied. "Thank you."

She had poured a shake for Barricade, and had just put in milk and ice cream to make her own, when the phone rang. She suspected who it was, yet got confused when her screen said, _Image unavailable_. "Uh, hello?"

"Valerie?" said the voice. "Valerie, baby, this here's Sundown. Told ya I'd call."

"Sundown, how lovely to hear from you," she replied. She wondered if Barricade was overhearing her. She half-expected him to rip the phone out. "But, um, where are you calling from? I don't see you on my video screen."

"Oh, the hotel we're at's got these old phones from thirty years ago," Sundown said. "It's quaint an' not too expensive, but they're too cheap to invest in anythin' technological."

"Where's Jeremy?"

"Oh, he's just fell asleep. Yer right, baby, this boy can fall asleep faster than the Texan thunder booms. Don't think I can wake him up even though I'm speakin' normally."

"How was dinner with your parents?"

"Oh, darlin', it turned into a disaster once Chuck an' Gloria came." Sundown relayed to her what happened, the fight they had, the threat his brother made to him, and she sounded like she was ready to cry. "Aw, Valerie, don' cha cry now. I did everythin' I could to protect him from Chuck's wrath. Lynette an' my nephews kept him from even comin' near Jeremy."

"Well, how wonderful that some members of your family know the realities of children like Jeremy. And in such a conservative state, too." She breathed lightly to calm herself. "Damn conservative parents, why can't they see there's a reason why they're called _special needs_ children?" She decided change the topic before she got depressed. "So, what did you guys do these past two days?"

"Well, we took a leisurely drive around Houston so I could show him the whole town, all the landmarks." Sundown replied. "You should've seen Jeremy, he was so interested in it."

"He was always good with geography," Valerie said. "He may not be good with maps of cities he's never seen, but give him a U.S. map with dots for cities, and tell him where certain cities are and he'll point them out. Give him a blank world map, and he'll show you where certain countries are."

"We finished by stoppin' at the Museum of Natural Science," he continued. "He loved the insect zoo an' that new exhibit on the Jurassic Era the best. Later on, we went to the planetarium to see a show called Starry Night Dreams. Jeremy was so enamored by the colors. Everyone was pointin' out constellations, but the both of us had some trouble. But he was very good at pointing out the planets, and he was so interested in the sun an' the moon, even the Milky Way."

"That's interesting," she said. "Jeremy was never all that good with Science."

"I woke up this mornin' with the notion that Jeremy will be goin' back to school soon, so I took him shoppin' all day today for new clothes. We focused mainly on dress shirts an' jeans fer fall, and sweatshirts fer winter. Spent around four hundred bucks alone. I'll show ya some of the stuff we bought. It's a lot." He paused. "An' I might take him back to shop for school supplies before we leave fer Arizona. Ya got a list of specific stuff he needs?"

"This is a special school for the handicapped," she explained. "All he needs are a couple of binders, some paper, pencils and pens, and instruments for drawing."

She never saw Barricade sneaking up to her, but she could feel his hands cupping her breasts. She laughed vicariously at the feelings and said, "Barricade! Save it for later, okay? I'm on the phone!" But he continued to kiss her neck.

"Barricade!" Sundown shouted into the phone. "What in hell is he doin' to ya, Valerie! Don't he know it ain't polite to interrupt?"

Barricade took the receiver from her and said, "Sorry, Sundown, but Valerie just became busy again." He kissed her lips twice. "She'll have to call you back some other time." He hung up, took her back to the living room and sat her on the loveseat.

He put a CD of soul groove songs in the player, then began to dance sexy for her once he heard the voice of Marvin Gaye. Barricade was still in his uniform the whole date, so he stripped the top part off piece by piece.

"Valerie," he said while he danced. "Valerie, you don't realize how much we need each other. You don't realize how much I love you, how much I care. So why can't you make up your mind? If I could tell everyone in the world about us, they'd tell you to take me over the rest of them. So why don't you just say it. Say that you want to be with for the rest of your damn life!"

She gasped as he ripped his T-shirt off. He left his pants and shoes on, though, and he walked up to her to put her hands on his chest. "Valerie!" he said with an air of desperation. "Oh Valerie, but if this bare chest of mine could talk, it'd say that it deserves the look from your eyes. It'd wish that you could touch it more often. It'd promise to keep you warm on the coldest of winter nights." She was persuaded, and started to kiss all over his body.

"Oh, Barricade!" she breathed. "Barricade, I don't know what to do now. I sent Jeremy away so he could get close to Sundown. And the way you want me to play…"

He got onto the loveseat and stood on his knees over her. "Is the best way to get my point across to you." He laid her down and began to make smooth, saucy love to her, caressing her neck, cupping her breasts again, then went back up to her shoulders, making his way to her cheeks.

"Oh, Barricade!" she repeated a little louder. And as he continued to kiss her, she found herself repeating this a few times more.

They continued to make love throughout the next two songs, then when it was over, Barricade started to turn out all the lights. He picked Valerie up, swung her into his arms, carried her to her bedroom as if they were going to their honeymoon suite. He left the music playing on the player, and his stripped clothes on the floor.

* * *

Sundown and Jeremy left Houston the next day, and drove to San Antonio. While on the highway, Jeremy asked, "Sundown,… did you… ever… do any… police… work… in… San… Antonio?" 

"Nope," Sundown answered. "Spent most of my career in Houston, with a small stint in Austin. But I'll tell ya one thing, son – nobody tours the state of Texas without visitin' the Alamo. It's practically the most famous shrine in all of Texas. You know, the man whom the city of Houston's named after, Sam Houston, he was a key figure in this piece of Texas history. He was known fer the famous phrase, 'Remember the Alamo.'"

"Didn't… Mom… tell… you?" Jeremy said. "I'm… horrible… at… history. Always… have… been."

"Don't you worry, pardner," Sundown assured. "I'll explain it to ya the best I can. This here's somethin' that'll stay wit ya fer a long time comin'."

Jeremy listened to the radio for a few more minutes, then turned it off when the song ended. "Can… you… tell me… more… about… the Alamo? You… seem… to know… so much."

Sundown laughed aloud. "So yer that interested, are ya? Ya think you can apply y'self enough to understand? Yer mama says that's yer trouble in school." He cleared his throat rather loudly, while Jeremy positioned his head on the back of his neck, so it wouldn't move. "Well, Jeremy, this played a very important part in the Texas Revolution. In December of 1835, a group of Texan and Tejano men went up against the Mexican army who zoned themselves right in San Antonio. They fought practically wall to wall for five days 'fore they made 'em surrender. An' two months later, in February of 1836, a general named Santa Anna brought his army to San Antonio, which surprised their enemies. It never fazed them, and they decided to defend the Alamo as a large team."

"How… long… did they… stay?"

"Thirteen days, during which a man named William Travis called for help in many Texan towns. By the eighth day, there were twenty-two volunteers, bringin' the army to almost two hundred. An' they all decided they'd rather die protectin' the Alamo, than surrender to the Mexicans. Among them were a knife fighter named Jim Bowie, an' a famous frontiersman named Davy Crockett."

"Did it… work?"

Sundown shook his head. "Nope. Now, folks are still arguin' 'bout this, but on the sixth of March, the Mexican army assaulted on the defenders, runnin' in the darkness 'fore the dawn. This all happened at daybreak, now. When they got to the Alamo's walls, there were cannons and smaller arms goin' off from the inside, so some attacks never went through. Didn't stop 'em from climbin' the walls, stealin' a cannon and usin' it to blast open the doors. Now, it must've been a big army, 'cuz the defenders struggled 'til they couldn't do anymore. An' in a short time, too, the battle ended by sunrise, leavin' about 180 men dead, an' the Mexicans had won. Then they burned all the dead as a sign of disrespect. At least, that's what I was taught in History class."

Jeremy looked disappointed by that outcome. He lowered his head, but Sundown gently brought it up. "The point is," Sundown told him, "these men died as heroes, and gave up a lot for people like you an' me to live freely. That's why many people see it as a shrine of liberty. D'ya understand, son?"

"I do," Jeremy replied. "Will… you… tell me… more… about… the… heroes of… the Alamo?" Sundown smiled, and started off with Davy Crockett.

When they arrived, Sundown pointed at the shrine and said, "Lookit that, son. That very area was where the defenders were attacked. Before it all happened, it used to be a church fer missionaries and their Native converts."

He had Jeremy stand at the entrance so he could take his picture. Jeremy had his head positioned on his neck again. Sundown stared at him and said, "Uh, Jeremy, can't ya position yer head straight? Ya look like yer slouchin'."

"It's… the… only… way I can… keep… my head… from… moving," Jeremy called. "Hurry… up. I… don't know… how… much… longer… I can… keep… it… like this."

Sundown snapped two pictures, then stopped a passer-by and asked, "Sir, would ya mind takin' a coupla shots of that boy an' me." He gave him the camera, went over to Jeremy, and positioned himself so the boy was resting on his shoulder. He got the camera back as they went inside.

The first thing Jeremy saw was a group of state flags. "Each one represents the where the defenders grew up," Sundown explained. He then saw all the artifacts belonging to the heroes, and took both of Jeremy's hands. "Best so you don't touch anythin.'"

"Then how… will… you… be… able… to take… pictures?" Jeremy asked.

He was too busy staring at Davy Crockett's buckskin vest to look at anything else. He pointed at it and asked, "Sundown,… can you… take… a… picture… of me… wearing… that?"

Sundown examined the vest and replied, "Don't think they'd let ya put it on, kid."

A family of tourists overheard this, and stared at Jeremy. The father commented, "That vest would be a bit big for him to begin with." His little girl added, "How old is he, anyway?"

"His name is Jeremy," Sundown replied. "He'll be eleven in a week-and a-half." Then he glared at the father. "An' what business is it of yours, anyway? It's very rude to be commentin' on a kid's height like that." The parents ignored him, and started to look at artifacts.

"Let's come back here later," Sundown suggested. Then, Jeremy started to move his head around, so Sundown took him outside before anyone could notice. His head was still moving for a few more minutes, and other tourists were starting to take notice. Every time Sundown noticed a tourist beginning to ask, he would quickly explain, "Weak muscles in his neck. He was shaken quite a bit as a tyke." Some took pity, others looked like they didn't care.

Sundown took Jeremy to the gardens next. He had to hold the boy very close, so he wouldn't trample the flower beds as they walked past. He brought him to them anyway, and Jeremy knelt down to try and smell them. A woman who saw this said, "Uh, little boy, I don't think those flowers have any scent." She picked him up and stood him right up. Sundown smiled at her.

Then, without warning, Jeremy broke away from Sundown and started trotting onto the lawn. He was trotting and jumping around, rolling around and doing somersaults, screaming happily. More visitors were staring at him, wondering what was with him. Some wondered what kind of energy he had. Others wondered whether or not he'd ruin the lawn or stain his clothes. One concerned older couple was standing near Sundown, looking at Jeremy. The man pointed and asked, "That your kid?"

"Actually, he's my girlfriend's kid," Sundown answered. "He's had Shaken Baby Syndrome since infancy, and he'll do stuff like that sometimes."

The man loosened his belt, removed it, and gave it to Sundown. "Here," he said, "you can borrow this fer a few when you git him." But he threw it back at him.

"Yer outta yer cotton-pickin' mind!" he shouted. "I ain't gonna use no belt on a mentally disabled kid like him! Who in hell d'ya think you are? My girl don't take kindly to people disciplinin' her son like that! She'd shave my hide if she knew I spanked him, hand or belt or paddle, in public or otherwise!" The disgusted couple walked away.

Suddenly, Jeremy got up and went back to Sundown, immediately wrapping his arms around him. Sundown chuckled and said, "I reckon you'd better stick by me until we leave. I know, let's take a walk around to see what's what. I'll show you some things that'll interest you." He pulled him closer, and they started exploring the landmark.

* * *

"You sure you want all of us at your family reunion," Bowzer asked. 

It had been two days since Bowzer, along with Bullseye and Mirage, left the hospital as of that Wednesday evening. He and Valerie were at the same trail he and Jeremy went to, walking Blitz. Valerie's family reunion was only several days away.

"I think it'd be nice if the four of you were there," she said. "Besides, it's like I told Barricade yesterday at dinner, this police project of Bulletproof's isn't going to get off the ground anytime soon, because of that excuse for a mayor you have."

"Come on," Bowzer said. "Most of the time, Mayor Davis doesn't even know he's being used in Big Boss' plans."

"And when he does find out, he goes along with it like a damn Stepford wife," Valerie ranted. "Rhonda's always said it's because he wants to cut costs to make himself look good as a politician, and she's right. So, of course he won't approve of it because of money. It's essential greed, and if that's not the ultimate scandal, then what is? This man just has to leave office, and a new mayor elected, before this plan can be put into effect." She picked up a dead branch and threw it for Blitz. "So, you guys might as well come meet my whole family at the reunion. I'm sure Bulletproof has decided to give you all the day off. He's probably just keeping it from me to surprise me."

"He may not let all of us go, Valerie. You never know what the Big Boss and his gang will come up with next."

"What, for Empire City, or for me?"

Bowzer looked at her questionably, then Valerie explained the incidents at her graffiti ad assignment with the roses, and at her house when he asked about Jeremy. "He's backed off in the past few days, but I'm sure he's coming up with something really big to lure me into his little love trap. His followers, too. Can't they take the hint? I don't _want_ them!"

Bowzer stopped her, took her hands, made her look in his eyes. "_I_ don't want you just for the sex, Valerie. Every day while I was in that hospital, I thought of only you."

"And I wish I could've seen you more often. Only that Sunday afternoon after I kicked Big Boss out of my house. I'm still kicking myself for it."

He gripped her hands tighter. "Valerie, I know you haven't forgotten that night Blitz attacked Jeremy. Would I have really begged for your forgiveness and another chance if I never loved you? Would I have really cried over losing you for it if I never loved you? You are the only woman that means anything to me, Valerie. It isn't fair that I have to fight members of my own crime-fighting team for your love. I'm scared that you'll pick Barricade, or Sundown, or Mace, or Highway. What do I have to do to win your heart?"

"Just treat me like I want to be treated," she said. "And treat my son like I do. That's all I ask."

"But I do, Valerie. I do."

And suddenly, Bowzer and Valerie came closer to each other, and he kissed her soft and sweet, lasting only a few moments. He stared so lovingly into her eyes, touching her hair lightly. "See? I love you so sweetly. And I'd love to be at your reunion this weekend. I want to meet the family that I want to marry into."

He was about to kiss her again when they heard a whimper and a few gruffling noises. They looked down to see Blitz with the stick in his mouth. Valerie smiled and threw the stick back for him to chase again. She and Bowzer said nothing, but continued to walk to catch up.

* * *

Two days later, Valerie and Mace were having dinner at Rhonda's house. Margaret and Polly were also there, so they could all talk about the reunion. But Rhonda was too preoccupied with Big Boss and the youth crime wave in the city. She'd been ranting about it throughout the whole meal. 

"That stupid Mayor Davis!" she lamented. "I still can't believe Bulletproof Vess had to postpone this special police conference until further notice! And at the last minute, too." She went to fetch the previous day's newspaper. "See this? He and the entire police force had been trying to convince the mayor to give the green light to a _two-million dollar project_ to help clean up Empire City's crime mess and save our children, and spread this to other needy cities!"

"I ain't happy about this, either, Rhonda," Mace said. "But Davis probably means quite well in his decision-makin'. Some schemes of Big Boss' mean his very life if he don't go along with 'em. You know Big Boss is that deadly."

Valerie looked over at Margaret, who was glaring at Rhonda. "Rhonda," she said. "I know you're angry about the crime wave and political affairs in this city. But promise me you won't bring those things up at the reunion tomorrow. A lot of our relatives are easily put off by things like that."

Valerie quickly turned to her sister and said, "Don't worry, Rhonda. I'll bet these people don't read the newspaper enough."

"That's because they're not interested in what goes on in Empire City," Polly suggested. "They're not like us."

Margaret clinked her fork to her wineglass rapidly. "If we can get back to the reunion," she interrupted, "I'd like to announce that Laura, Barbara and Graham have just completed a large scrapbook of family memories and memorabilia especially for this event. Laura brought it when she and the kids flew in from Oregon two days ago, and it is extraordinary…"

Valerie had tuned out when she heard Laura and Barbara's names. All she could think about was Jeremy, and how good it must be for him to not be around if they felt the need to discipline anyone. She knew Laura had a three-year-old granddaughter, and was picturing Laura and Barbara's reactions if the girl's mother accused Jeremy of teasing her, or accidentally spilling punch on her. _What a goddamn lie that would be!_ she thought. _Laura and Lisanne know Jeremy isn't the type to knowingly tease_. She decided to forget that. No matter what they talked about, if Laura and Barbara brought up Jeremy at any time, it would be a disaster.

Suddenly she heard Margaret yelling out her name. She jumped and stared at her aunt, who looked peeved at her.

"Are you listening?" Margaret asked. "Aren't you interested in the book your cousins produced? It's going to be quite an important display of family history. And about your call to me on Monday, I thought about it, and I've decided that all the children will be going to the fair on Sunday."

"Sorry," Valerie replied. "I was just thinking about Jeremy. Did you already tell the cousins he's not going to be there?"

"Graham told me that he told them as soon as he went back to Washington," Margaret said. "And they're very disappointed with you, Valerie. For starters, he also told me how shocked they were when he told them that you still have your five boyfriends." She looked disapprovingly at Mace.

"They called me to ask about it," Polly added, "and I said that you met them the weekend after you came here. Laura wants to know how you could allow Sundown to take Jeremy out of state when you've only known him for two months."

Valerie dropped her fork at this thought. "And she probably also wants to know how I could divorce my bastard husband after twelve years of marriage, as opposed to _her_ twenty-eight-year marriage. And Barbara's twenty-one-year marriage!" She ate a huge forkful of baby carrots.

"Barbara's been married for twenty-three years, Valerie," Margaret corrected.

"Like I care." She swallowed her food. "I should just fake an illness and stay away. I swear, if they talk to me like they did five years ago…"

Her voice trailed off when she felt Mace's strong hand taking hers. "Don't talk like that, baby," he said. "If it's any consolation, Bulletproof gave some of us the weekend off in his frustration. I'd love to go to the reunion with you. After all, if I plan on marryin' ya, I'd like to meet the whole family."

That, along with Bowzer's desire to attend himself, gave her the confidence to go. And maybe if Barricade and Highway showed up, too, she could have enough to brag to relatives about how she changed since her divorce. Valerie turned to Mace, kissed him, and said, "Thanks for the change of mind, sweetheart." Happily, she ate another bite of her cheeseburger.

* * *

Several hours later, after Valerie and Mace left Rhonda's house, they went to the Empire City Park to watch the sunset. They found a spot near the bridge, remembering the Fourth of July fireworks display. Mace parked in a gravely spot across the roadway from a grassy spot overlooking the river. He retrieved his quilt from the trunk, took Valerie to the reserved spot and set it down. 

"Ooh, this feels so soft," she said as they got settled. "I've never slept in your bed yet, have I?"

"Well, we can change that tonight," Mace said suggestively. She laughed and gave him a light tap.

He cleared his throat and took her hand again. "It's too bad I never bought a jug of wine for us to share."

"We had wine with dinner," Valerie said. "I want you to be sober enough to take me home."

"D'ya wanna see if we can get an ice cream cone?"

She laughed. "They don't operate this time of day. And wasn't that chocolate dessert Mom bought good enough for you?"

"Hey, just tryin' to be romantic." Mace put his arm around Valerie's shoulder and brought her closer. "Valerie, I thought this'd be a special time to say how much I love you. I love you more than I ever would the whole world. I'm serious."

Valerie smiled and put her head on his shoulder. "Oh, Mace, and I just adore you. Like I adore Highway and Bowzer and Sundown and Barricade."

"That's just it," Mace said. "Every time I think of you when you ain't with me, I'm forced to think of what yer doin' with the others. And I don't know how much more I can take."

"You want to make this lifelong, don't you?" She looked away from him, staring at the sky. "Oh, that's right, you threw Nightshade over for me, didn't you?" She sighed, thinking of her tough decision. "Jesus, now I don't know what to do. Barricade and Bowzer want to have me for life, too. And no doubt for Highway, too. Oh, I wish I could marry you all, but that'd make me such a bigamist. And four good fathers would look weird to Jeremy, although he'd much prefer it to one abusive one."

Mace shushed her. "I don't wanna pressure ya, darlin. I'll just hafta work harder to bring you closer to me."

"I shouldn't have to worry about this. I'm still nervous about tomorrow."

"You? Nervous?" Mace's laugh sounded quite boisterous. "Baby, yer gonna be showin' four strong, handsome, professional authority figures off to three hundred relatives this weekend. Trust me, nervous is the last thing you should be. And I'll even take you there myself."

"Well, I never asked any of the others, so I guess that'd be all right."

He brought her close enough to hug her. Valerie said nothing, but suddenly felt better. They both looked out at the sky, which was now an array of pink, purple and orange. The setting sun was a richer shade of orange, and it all made the picture of the bridge look beautiful. For those moments, the reunion was only in the back of her mind, never forgotten. With four lovers, she could earn herself a bad reputation within her family. And she had enough to worry about with those who may criticize her parenting.

Half an hour later, after kissing Mace on the porch and watching him leave, she went inside to hear the phone ring. She picked up to see _Image unavailable_ on the video screen. "Sundown?" she asked. "Sundown, is that you?"

"Mom!" said the voice. "Mom, it's… Jeremy."

"Hi, sweetie," she said, smiling. "Where's Sundown."

"He's… in the… middle… of a… shave," Jeremy said. "He'll… be… out… soon… to talk."

"What are you doing up?" she asked. She looked at the time on the phone. Ten-thirty at night. "In Houston, it's a half-hour past your bedtime."

"I know," he said. "It's just… that… I've… been… thinking… of you… so… much,… and… Sundown… has, too."

Valerie touched her heart, certain she could feel it melting. "Oh, that's so sweet, honey. So what have you been doing since Sundown called?"

"Well," Jeremy replied, "yesterday,… we… went… to the… mall… for… more… shopping. Sundown… still… had… that list… of… school… supplies… that… you… wanted… him… to buy… for me. We… managed… to buy… everything… I'll… need."

"That's wonderful, sweetie," Valerie said. "Now you're all set for school."

Suddenly, she heard him say, "Here's… Sundown… right… now. I'll… have… to go… to bed. Good… night." And when she heard Sundown's voice, she said, "Sundown? How's Jeremy behaving? Did you show him the Alamo? How'd he like it?"

"He reckoned it was interestin'," Sundown answered. "He wanted to know all 'bout what happened, and I told him all I knew. Doubt he'll remember much of it 'fore school starts, though." He mentioned how Jeremy acted in the gardens, moving all over the lawn, and Valerie laughed.

"Well, that's typical behavior for someone like him," she said. She frowned when he revealed some of the comments made by tourists; she just didn't care for them. "Well, it'd be nice if someone was there to take pity. Maybe they gave you guys special passes to an Astros home game?"

"No, that ain't happened. But we did have a dip in the pool 'fore we started packin' this evenin'. We plan to leave early tomorrow mornin'. It's a long way to Arizona. I'm just 'bout ready to go to bed m'self. Oh, but I've spent ev'ry night in this very room dreamin' of you. I picture your beautiful body caressin' against mine. Oh, but I wish you'd been able to come wit me."

Valerie gasped and touched her throat. "Oh, Sundown," she breathed. "That was so wonderful of you to say that." She then remembered they had a long day of driving. "But maybe I should let you get your sleep. So good night, Sundown. I love you." She hung up slowly. Maybe she heard him wish her good night, too, but didn't really know. She was too nervous about the reunion. She went downstairs. Maybe her jukebox could help psyche her up.

* * *

Valerie didn't want to get out of bed the next morning, but knew she had to. She thought of Laura and Barbara, and their families, staying at a hotel. She thought of all the scrutiny she'd face with all the relatives who'd never see Jeremy. At least she knew what she'd tell _them­_. "It's more important that he spend some alone time with a potential father," she said to herself. She repeated this as a mantra while she showered, dressed, made her makeup look perfect. 

She went to fix her breakfast, checked the time on the phone. Twenty-five minutes to eleven in the morning. "Damn, but I shouldn't have slept in so late!" she muttered. She decided to fix toast and cereal. She was still terrified about today; she ate so fast. She stared at the clock for an hour. Mace didn't say what time he'd pick her up.

Sure enough, Mace arrived at just after one in the afternoon. She stared at his black polo and blue jeans and asked, "You look nice, but aren't you going to be a little warm in that? We'll be outdoors most of the day."

"Still, I look nice, and that's what's important," he reminded her.

They'd already left the residence area when he looked over her. She was frantically adding more mascara and lipstick. He asked, "You still nervous?"

"As ever!" she answered. "I can tell Laura's going to be on me the minute our eyes lock."

When they got downtown, Mace noticed a motorcyclist riding close to them. "Shit, that's Highway, ain't it!" he declared. "Damn, but I was hopin' he'd be workin' today."

Valerie looked out her window to see the cyclist driving alongside the car. It had to be Highway, she believed; he turned to her, smiled and waved. Valerie waved back, then turned back to Mace. He was too focused on the road to notice, and she took that as a good thing. No jealousy to worry about.

Highway arrived at the park before Mace and Valerie did. She noticed a string of limousines – probably for out-of-town relatives – and Highway eyeing at the car as Mace parked, waiting for her to come out. But she noticed him approaching her. He opened her door, offering to take her out.

"Hey!" Mace called. "What's the big idea, Highway! It's my car, and _I_ brought her! _I_ should be the one to take her out!" He slammed his door on his way out.

"It's okay, Mace," Valerie said. "Actually, I'm glad that you both came." Soon, two more cars arrived, one of them being the white Ferrari familiar to Valerie.

"Oh, crap!" Highway said. Shortly thereafter, Barricade and Bowzer stepped out. Barricade was wearing the same outfit he wore to the police picnic. Bowzer had a navy button-down shirt and khakis. Highway undid his jacket to reveal a white shirt and black tie, and frowned. "And they look better than we do, Mace. Look at Valerie prodding over them like that."

She was through kissing Barricade and Bowzer, then united them with their colleagues. "So glad you all could come," she said. "I can tell some of my family will be impressed. Let's go. We have to meet Aunt Margaret."

She saw the Shewfelts and Lorimars, and Rhonda said, "Valerie! We thought you wouldn't come until later! Oh, but your dates look so handsome. They'll definitely win the family's approval."

Suddenly, Valerie noticed two somewhat familiar women standing with Graham. The taller one had dark brown hair like his, which she probably curled. The shorter one's hair was more chocolate colored, like Rhonda's. But she definitely noted one of the younger women. She looked like a younger version of the taller woman, and holding a child of her own. Her daughter and grandchild. In fact, they all brought their children, from the looks of the crowd. The younger woman was whispering to her mother, who informed her sister. She noticed their faces. Her most hated cousins! Laura Brainerd Whitler, the taller one, was obviously older, around early fifties, and Barbara Brainerd Jackman, the shorter one, was close to her fiftieth birthday, she guessed. She couldn't tell with her face looking so young.

But she knew who they were, and turned away. "Oh God!" she cried. "It's the Sourpuss Sisters!"

Barbara's voice sounded perkier. "Cousin Valerie!" she cried. "It's so good you could come."

"Barbara!" Laura cried. "We're still angry with her, remember."

Valerie started to make conversation, but her tensions were rapidly increasing. "Laura! Barbara! Five years later, we meet again. So, um, where are your husbands?"

"Jack's left behind in Oregon," Laura said. "He's in the middle of a very important case involving some fraudulent business practices. So far, it doesn't look very good. The evidence of customers getting ripped off continues to pile up in the courtroom. He just may lose this one."

"And Ross is on business in Madrid and Lisbon," Barbara added. "He's returning on the eighteenth. He's picking up some Spanish and Portuguese recipes to add to the menus for his restaurant. He already e-mailed this recipe for rice and hamburger enchilada."

Laura stared at the C.O.P.S. "So, I see _you've_ bounced back since you divorced Tom," she said.

"Thanks," Valerie replied, and introduced her men to them. They shook the women's hands.

"Speaking of bouncing back," Barbara said, "Aunt Polly tells us that you're now project manager for Lancer and Sussex Advertising Agency right here in Empire City. What's your track record like here?"

"Oh, it's just been perfect," Valerie replied. "I've done around ten assignments for some very big clients, and haven't had a single rejection." She even mentioned some of them, including the Ice Cream Puffs ad, and the Breath For Life infomercial.

"Well, we should be proud of Jeremy, right, Laura?" Barbara said. "I mean, it'll probably be a few months before he becomes a promotion celebrity. Where is he, anyway?"

"He went down south for vacation with another one of my men, Sundown."

"Sundown! You said you had five, Val. I'd been wondering who that last one was."

"Well, I'm not impressed," Laura objected. "I'm sorry, Valerie, but isn't it bad enough you feel the need to get rid of the best man you ever could have? By that, I mean, TOM!"

Valerie's mood suddenly turned sour. "Tom?" she said. "Best man I could ever have? Maybe he was at the _beginning_ of our marriage, but I was not the one who left him when I was pregnant, was I! Although perhaps I should have. Maybe then, I'd be able to _spank him whenever he misbehaved_." Now, she was sarcastic. Her tone was attracting relatives from a twenty-foot radius, including Polly and Margaret. "Of course, I would if he were able to learn right from wrong, right?"

Before Valerie could say any more, Laura griped, "Oh, there you go again with your inane passive-protective bullshit! Listen, woman, just because Jeremy's brain is severely damaged, it doesn't mean he can't benefit from good old-fashioned _effective_ discipline. God, why are you so afraid to lay your hand on him? You have the whole family believing that spanking, slapping and beating will make him more stressed out and defiant. Sorry, but I must respectfully disagree." She turned to her mother. "Mom, you and Dad would still belt and paddle our backsides for being bad if we were shaken as much as Jeremy, wouldn't you?"

"I'm staying out of this, Laura," Margaret said.

"Oh, God, Laura, shut your ass up!" Valerie barked. "Five years since we last spoke, and nothing has changed, has it! You're still giving me unsolicited advice and unwanted criticism about my parenting! You're just like my parent co-workers, with the exceptions of Cindy and Elise! Remember those three bitches I told you about? My boss kicked them off the Breath For Life thing, remember, and this was why! And, get this, bitch – _I don't appreciate it!_"

"Valerie, don't call your cousin a bitch!" Margaret lectured.

Barricade tried to reason with Laura. "Laura," he said, "don't you know anything about family psychology? You do not take a mentally retarded child, and beat them with a belt, whip or paddle. And Jeremy is retarded, severely. Valerie realizes this, and that's why she's won't discipline him like that. Would you beat him every time he moved his head around? He can't help that because of his neck, remember?"

"Nobody asked you, you bastard!" she spat back. Valerie, the C.O.P.S., and the rest of the witnessing family, all gasped.

"Laura Anne Brainerd!" Margaret said. "You spent whole your motherhood preaching about having respect for authority, and here you are, taking to a _member_ of one like that! You should be ashamed, miss!"

Barbara gave more polite criticism of her own. "That's another thing, Valerie," she said. "I don't want to put down your new life and your new romances. I really want to be happy for you. But Laura and I think you threw Tom away for no reason at all. Maybe he shouldn't have fiercely objected to you having Jeremy. But he meant well when he was _disciplining_ him the way he did, and you know it."

Valerie looked nasty at Barbara. "Oh, and I suppose you think he meant well when he was shaking him every time he made a damn noise when he was a baby!" Her face got flushed, and tears started spilling from her eyes. Mace and Highway quickly held her together.

"Maybe he shouldn't have shaken him, either!" Barbara said. "God, Laura and I know better than that with _our_ kids. But does Jeremy show any respect for you? Does he listen, and do what he's told? Does he refrain from talking back and getting physical with you?"

"May I answer, Barbara?" Karen volunteered. "Of course Jeremy behaves himself when he's at my house. He's always behaved himself. If I say he can't watch TV, he doesn't put up a fuss. And normally, he'll stay with me – unless he sees something scary, then he'll run off." She thought of time Jeremy saw Big Boss on TV at the mall. "And everyone knows he goes right to bed at nine. You just can't understand that certain bad behaviors are beyond his control, and there are lots of household chores he can't do."

"Don't give us that, Karen!" Laura spat. "I refuse to believe that a child like Jeremy has that little self-control! Nothing should be beyond him, and he should know there are certain ways he can and cannot act in public, or the privacy of one's home! That's fucking shit! And about the chores, you and Valerie can put stepladders in your kitchens, and have Jeremy do the dishes, at least!"

Valerie overheard the last part, stopped crying, and faced Laura. "Why, so Jeremy can fall off and hurt himself?" she asked. "Drop dishes into the sink and smash them against the steel, and cutlery, too? Did I also mention how clumsy and klutzy he can still be?"

"Christ, Valerie, it's not like he's still four years old!" Laura yelled.

"He still _functions _like it, Laura!" Polly said.

She sighed harshly. "Obviously, you're still the weak and lazy parent we criticized you as five years ago!" she said in a rather devilish fashion. "You're still coddling and spoiling your son with the _wrong form of love_! I'm beginning to see why you and Tom got divorced to begin with. And what do you do afterwards? Fall in love with five men and persuade them to adopt _your _parenting methods?" She stared at the C.O.P.S. again. "I've heard about you guys through Mom and Aunt Polly. You're supposed to exercise authority in your jobs, and you're in love with my incompetent cousin who has none." Back to Valerie. "And I'm really surprised that you're project manager for your company. You don't deserve it." Then, back to the C.O.P.S. "Just what do you see in her?"

"Dammit, Laura!" Valerie screamed. "Did it ever occur to you that maybe they LOVE ME! They've loved me and Jeremy more than Tom ever did, that fuckhead! And these men are Jeremy's chances to have a real, loving, caring father. I want that for him! Which is why I sent him away with one of them. And guess what, he going away again, with one of these four, I won't tell you which one. But the point is for Jeremy to have a strong bond with a trustworthy man, which Tom wasn't! And I thank God I fell in love with policemen. At least he isn't afraid of authority anymore."

"Oh, and about that," Laura said, "I could understand if you fell in love with at least ONE of them, but you're apparently sleeping around with FIVE! You, my dear cousin, are the Queen Slut. Add to that a permissive mother and drama queen, and you have the worst combination ever. I don't know why Jeremy's in _your_ custody. You're scarring him for life, and screwing him up."

"_You fucking little bitch!"_ Valerie screamed. She threw herself at Laura, and shoved her onto the ground. She wasted no time as she pounded Laura on her head and face. They were pulling each other's hair, tearing each other's clothes, trying to hit, bite and choke each other. They were rolling around in the fight until they came to a tree, then Laura got up, stood Valerie up, started punching _her_. Valerie shoved her cousin again, and they were soon wrestling each other. They called each other all the filthy names – bitch, slut, whore, tramp, freak. The witnesses all ran up to separate them, but their grip was quite strong. But Mace and Highway used all their muscle to break the two apart.

"Hey, Laura," Valerie said, "remember that time at your house five years ago, when I wrote on your wall with Jeremy's marker before leaving, and refused to wash off? Remember what I wrote? _'Laura is a bitch!'_ I see that's still true today!" She broke from Highway and ran off along the walkway.

"Valerie, wait!" Highway called. Mace, Barricade and Bowzer all ran after them.

"I'm going to go talk to her!" Barbara volunteered, and ran off after the group of lovers.

After a hour-long rational, calming conversation, Barbara managed to persuade Valerie to come back. She'd resolved to try and have a good time, but it wasn't easy. Nobody ever criticized her parenting techniques for the rest of the day. Once in a while, she'd overhear Laura making a snide comment about her. But she avoided her for the rest of the weekend, even when she went to the fair for her romantic dates.

* * *

At the Grand Canyon, Sundown and Jeremy were staring at the majestic gorge in the late evening sunset. "This is… so… beautiful," Jeremy said. "The… orange… and… yellow… look… really… good… with all… that… brown…rock." 

"Yeah, that is a pretty picture, ain't it?" Sundown said. "An' look at all those rock formations out there."

"Those… are… neat… shapes," Jeremy said.

He tried to look down to see if there was anything deep in the gorge. He squatted and put his head under the railing, but Sundown quickly took him out. "Careful, son," he said. "You could fall a long way if ya went over."

"Can… you… tell me… what's… down… there?"

"Well, down below lies the famous Colorado River, which digs out lots of limestone an' sandstone an' shale, all of which surround a ton of wildlife. An' there's layers of rock piled on top of each other. I reckon maybe we should take a tour of that part tomorrow. We'll both enjoy it." He looked back at the truck. "And I reckon we should sleep in the back. I wanna git up early enough to share the sunrise wit you."

He looked around, and saw two young lovers kissing passionately amidst the beautiful scene. He was touched, thinking of Valerie, and turned to Jeremy. He said, "Jeremy, I want you to know that I love you very much. I love you like I love yer mama. Look at that couple over there. This beautiful picture would've been perfect fer me an' your mama to share alone. And when I see her, I'm gonna tell her exactly how I feel about our love. Jeremy, I really wanna be yer daddy. That's why I wanted you on this trip, fer you to git as close to me as possible. An' it's workin'. I've given you enough warmth an' love fer you to love me back. I've heard you say you love me when I tucked you in at night. Don't you deny it. I don't want yer mama to pick anyone else. I've loved her from the first moment I saw her, an' I'm determined to take her as my bride."

"I… understand," Jeremy said.

When he turned again, the couple was gone. Sundown and Jeremy were left alone, so he picked the boy up, and held him like a child would a teddy bear. The sun had disappeared amongst the rock, so they kept focused on the colors in the sky. The picture still looked pretty.

* * *

It was eleven o'clock at night, only a few nights after the reunion weekend. Valerie was still upset with it. She knew Laura would never speak with her again, but thought there was some potential with the more polite Barbara. But she left Empire City just as mad at Valerie as her older sister. She'd called Highway, begging him to come see her. He did, and he spent the whole evening comforting her in the serene living room, with only a CD of lyric-free "Sounds of Springtime" classical music playing. He even said, "I'll even stay the night if you want me to." 

"Could you, please?" she'd replied.

She decided it was time for bed, but she wanted to check her e-mail. "Highway, why don't you go to my bedroom now. I'll check my computer. I want to see if Cousin Barbara sent me an e-mail. I gave everyone my address." He nodded, and went down the hall.

She clicked on Outlook and waited a few minutes. Three messages since she last checked seven hours before. She gasped in happiness as she saw Barbara's name pop up in the From line, the message titled, _About this weekend_.

_Valerie,_ it read. _I'm sorry for my sister's behavior this past Saturday. Laura said that Mom gave her a good lecture while your boyfriends and I were tending to you. I can still remember Mom crying as we went back, something about Laura spoiling the reunion. I just got a message from her, with a new rule to enforce: the spanking debate and other touchy subjects are off-limits at all future family functions. I talked to Laura yesterday – she thinks you should definitely sign up for parenting classes, and that you might have ruined her relationship with Mom. I can tell it will take her forever to make up with her. As for me, I'm sorry for criticizing you about your divorce and new relationships. Mom also told me that you divorced Tom for Jeremy's sake. That was all it took for me to adjust. I wish you luck with you new romances, and when you make your decision, my family and I hope to see you marry. My two boys think it would be "really cool" to see you marry a police officer. Perhaps next time I'm in Empire City, I can stay with you in lieu of a hotel. I promise, no corporal punishment on Jeremy, ever. Love, Barbara._

Valerie just smiled. She was too tired to think of Laura, or her advice about parenting classes. She went into her bedroom, lit only by a lamp beside Highway. He sat up in her bed, bare-chested and grinning. She noticed his clothes on the floor, and slowly walked towards him, but received a surprised when he got out of bed. Highway was completely naked, and he kissed her in wanton passion as he stripped her clothes off. When she wore nothing but a bra and stockings, he took her back to his spot.

They were rolling all over bed, kissing and groping each other for some time, neither of them cared how long they went. He backed away afterwards, to pull the covers back for her. But instead of getting into bed, she pressed on him, and they started having sex again.

Highway had never felt so heated, so passionate before. He thought of Barricade and Bowzer at the reunion, and decided he couldn't keep his feelings to himself anymore. He turned her over, pulled the bed sheets over them, and gave her a soft look that begged her to be his.

"Oh, Valerie," he said. "I just can't stand being locked in this fight for your hand. I don't know how longer you and I can do this charade."

"But I can't make up my mind," Valerie told him. "I've never fallen in love with a more beautiful group of men in my life. Men whose touches have made me feel like a woman, and whose warmth has made me feel human. Men who've stepped up to the plate, and showed Jeremy what a father really has to do. Men who have made me feel whole and complete and–"

"But you can't marry all of us, can you?" Highway reminded her. He flipped her over so she lay on her stomach, and she could feel his dragger go down into her backside. "Oh, but if all the things I've done in the past weren't enough to make you choose me, maybe this will do it. Out of all the things I want in this world, your promise to marry me is one of them. Let my damn colleagues find loves of their own. I don't want to control you, I just want to make you mine, and you know damn well I have the best of intentions."

She couldn't answer him, just call out his name when his actions were getting rougher on her. She loved the feeling of his fingertips massaging her back, and she suddenly wished he could stay like this until morning. But she could've sworn Sundown took her like this before, yet she could never tell Highway this. It felt good for her, his touch, yet was it enough for her to choose Highway. They all proved in some way that love and sex go together.

* * *

A/N: There you have it. I'll try to get the next one up before Christmas. I'll get started on it ASAP. 


	20. Return Of The Love Sheriff And The Ex

Chapter 20

On August 22nd, Jeremy turned eleven years old. It was their last full day in Arizona. Sundown woke him up at seven-thirty that morning, and the first thing he said to the boy was, "Happy birthday, pardner." Jeremy quickly got out to hug him and whispered a soft, "Thank you."

Sundown decided to take Jeremy on a tandem horseback ride through the plateaus and hills of the Grand Canyon. The scenic beauty mystified the both of them. And as Sundown held on to the reins, he also held Jeremy to keep him from falling off. But the boy took this as a gesture of love, and placed his head back on the man's body, just below his chest. Jeremy looked up with a natural smile and said, "I… love you,… Sundown."

"I love you, too… my son," Sundown whispered back.

"It's… so… beautiful," Jeremy said. "Oh,… Sundown,… thank you… for… bringing… me here. I'll… always… treasure… this… forever."

"An' I'll always treasure this time we shared," Sundown replied. "You are the most special kid I've ever known. Any dream you may have deserves to come true fer you."

For dinner, he took Jeremy to a quaint family restaurant in nearby Sedona, where the boy only had two chicken strips with small orders of fries and vegetables. After Jeremy's food digested, each of them had a big slice of chocolate cake. Jeremy's slice had a single candle in it.

"This is… great," he said. "Boy,… I wish… Mom… were… here."

"I wish she were here, too, Jeremy," Sundown replied, then sipped some coffee. "She would've loved bein' here wit you today."

At eight-thirty that night, Sundown called Valerie. First, she spoke to Jeremy, and wished him a happy birthday. Jeremy told all about his horseback ride, and his mother said, "That's wonderful, sweetie. Did you have a good time with Sundown?"

"The best," he replied. "I… can't wait… until… I get home… so I… can… tell… Brian… and… Tyler. And… I hope… I get… to… do a… two… thousand… word… essay… on what I… did… on… my… summer… vacation… on my… first… day… back… at… school."

"It's not over yet," Valerie reminded him. "I think Barricade also said he's taking you to Washington, D.C. later this week."

"Yeah,… but… this was… my… dream… come… true."

After a few more minutes, she asked, "Could you put Sundown on the phone for me, please, dear?" Jeremy nodded and loudly called for him. When he took it, she asked him, "What time tomorrow does your plane take off?"

He searched his suitcase for the return tickets from Phoenix, and checked the time. "Three o'clock in the afternoon," he answered. "I reckon I'll take him out to watch the sunset over the Canyon one last time, then after we pack, I'll take him out to a nice breakfast tomorrow. Then, I gotta return the pick-up to the car rental place in Phoenix, then board a bus. We gotta check in by one-thirty."

Valerie tried to estimate the time they'd land in Empire City. "Will you be making a stop anywhere?"

"When we first received our tickets, I reckon she said somethin' 'bout stoppin' somewhere in Kansas."

There was a pause as she tried to think. "I think maybe you'll get in at around ten to nine tomorrow evening here, maybe a little after nine. I'll be at the airport at around eight-thirty. Maybe I can call Elise and Cindy tomorrow to see if they're willing to bring their boys. I'm sure they'd love to see Jeremy again."

"Aw, I reckon Jeremy will be too tuckered out to do any socializin'," Sundown said. "He'll be sleepin' in yer car on the way home."

"Right, right," Valerie replied. "Although, when we went to Los Angeles and back, he was still a bit energetic when we got off the plane. Then again, they were both non-stop flights."

"Well, it's a bit different when we make a stop, and although we won't be gettin' off, it may be a bit much fer him. I may even be carryin' him off."

"I think he'll be light enough for you to handle." Valerie paused a bit, then said, "Oh, and before I forget, Karen and Rhonda are going to be at the house for Jeremy's birthday on Monday. I don't know who else will be there, but Barricade promised he'd be there. Some of us went shopping as a family the day after the reunion, as a recovery. I'll tell you more about it when you get home. Don't tell him what's happening, though, I want it to be a surprise."

He didn't say anything, but smiled at Jeremy. This vacation was present enough from him.

"Well, I think I'd better let you go, if you want to get to the Canyon again before the sun starts to set. So, I'll look for you tomorrow. I love you."

I love you, too, my darlin'," Sundown said. "Wit all my heart an' soul. An' I can't wait to see you again. See ya." He hung up and picked Jeremy off his bed.

"C'mon, son," he said. "One last sunset at the Canyon 'fore we hafta go." Jeremy nodded, and trotted out ahead of Sundown.

* * *

The next afternoon, Sundown and Jeremy were landing in Kansas City on their flight out of Phoenix. When the plane was on the runway, Sundown said, "Remember, Jeremy, you an' me are to stay on the plane." 

Jeremy steepled his fingers, placed his hands on the back of his head, to keep from removing his seatbelt. He raised his arms over his head, as if he was stretching. It wasn't until passengers started boarding that he began to move his head around. Those who sat ahead of them looked as if they didn't notice. Those who passed them gave him strange looks. One boy even pointed and said, "Hey, check out the retarded kid moving his head around!" His mother gave him a swat and shoved him ahead. Sundown just gave him a harsh glare.

Jeremy stopped by the time the plane began to move. When the seatbelt sign turned off, Sundown went into the overhead compartment to get a book for Jeremy. He'd read about five pages when the flight attendants came up to them for in-flight dinner orders. Sundown had to tell him the choices: "Fish or Salisbury steak?"

"Fish!" Jeremy answered loudly. Sundown turned to the attendant. "An' I'll have the steak."

Sundown had to cut up Jeremy's fish dinner, yet Jeremy still ate it so slowly, the seatbelt sign had already turned back on by the time he was finished. Afterwards, he yawned and moved his head to the side so he could rest. Sundown smiled and took his book.

When the passengers started getting up, Sundown collected the carry-on bag and picked up the sleeping Jeremy. Between both, he found he was carrying a little over a hundred pounds, and he felt like he could handle it when he left. He just wondered if he could keep it up until he got to the baggage claim.

Yet, when they arrived, Sundown's arms started to get tired. His eyes found Valerie standing alone, looking surprised. He went over and kissed her, and she looked at Jeremy and said, "Wow, Jeremy wasn't this tired when we got home from L.A. Sure, he wasn't all that energetic, either, but still…"

"It was the stop in Kansas City that did it," Sundown replied. "Of course, he'd also be all tuckered out after two weeks of an excitin' vacation."

"Well, he also slept some of the way home last time," Valerie said. "He must've not slept at all until the end." She grunted a bit. "Well, I carried him for nine months. Another few minutes while you get your bags, and seventy feet won't kill me."

In her car, Valerie said to Sundown, "Now, I want you to tell me exactly what your God-forsaken brother said at dinner on your first day out."

"Well, besides harpin' Jeremy to eat faster an' swallow quicker," Sundown griped, "Chuck an Gloria were basically shootin' down ev'rythin' we relayed to them 'bout Jeremy. Gloria basically said that Jeremy's problems ain't no excuse fer him to be actin' the way he does. Then, Chuck suggested that Jeremy's unmannered an' disrespectful. My parents, sister an' I couldn't disagree more. And Gloria – she's a teacher who works wit disabled kids – said that her kids can learn better behavior through harshness and whackin'."

"I can safely assume she's never worked with S.B.S. children," Valerie said. "And she actually whacks disabled children? Alongside the head or rear?" She rolled her eyes. "I hope that woman loses her teaching license."

Then, Sundown got to the part when Jeremy announced he was finished. "He only had a bit of 'taters left, fer God's sake." He told about how Lynette and the nephews tried to keep Chuck from hitting Jeremy with their parents' paddle. Valerie looked at Sundown, feeling both relieved and sickened.

"An' in the livin' room," he continued, "well, I'll spare ya all the grisly details an' just explain the important stuff – Gloria said that she'd like to give you a few tips on how to discipline Jeremy properly."

"Yeah, right, like I _really_ need it!" Valerie retorted.

"An' in the heat of the moment, Chuck said you were an f-in' spineless idiot," Sundown added.

She looked at him surprised and even more sickened. "Pardon my French, but did you mean '_fucking_ spineless idiot?'" She lowered her head and put her fingers to her temples.

"An' before they left in such a hurry," he concluded, "he told me flat out that he doesn't like me datin' ya, an' that I'd be out of his will an' his life fer good if I ever married ya. _'I ain't gonna have a lazy, spoilin'-happy mama fer a sister-in-law!'_ That's what he told me."

"Great, that's just what I need, a Southern version of Tom!" she said. "Of course, it's really not all that different from what I went through with Laura and Barbara at my family reunion. Don't ask me how it went." She sighed harshly. "Can you believe that bitch still thinks I'm lazy with Jeremy? How dare she accuse me of _spoiling_ him with kindness and affection! I can't believe she thinks that kind of love is so wrong for a child like him! She had the audacity to say that Tom's the better man for me! And you won't believe what she said to the C.O.P.S. She suggested that they're not being authorial because _they're in love with her incompetent cousin_." She spoke in a high-pitched imitation voice. She didn't bother repeating what Laura said to Barricade, but continued, "I can't believe she suggested that I sign up for parenting classes."

"An' Barbara?" Sundown asked.

"All she said was that I shouldn't have divorced Tom," Valerie answered. "Although she _wanted_ to be happy for my new life. She apologized in an e-mail she sent me a few days ago. She said Aunt Margaret persuaded her that my divorce was a good thing for Jeremy, and that was all it took. We may make up if she can come back to Empire City, but I'm never speaking to Laura again." She sighed again. "Other than that, I had a good two weeks, despite all the looks I've been getting at work lately. I don't know why."

"Uh, Valerie, if yer invitin' me over to yer place, can we stop by mine first?" Sundown asked. "I gotta put my suitcase away." When she arrived at his apartment building, he got out, opened the back, retrieved his suitcase to take inside. She waited several minutes before he returned. He got back in the car and kissed her some more. "I'd love to be over at yer place. It's been two weeks. I missed you a lot, dumplin'."

When they arrived at Valerie's house, Sundown immediately took Jeremy out of the car. He said, "Ya don't mind if I put him to bed, do ya?"

"Could you, please?" she replied. "I have to do his laundry. He has another pair of pajamas in his bottom drawer."

Sundown took Jeremy into his room, and retrieved a pair of green pajamas. But just as he was about to remove his shirt, Jeremy woke up. "What's… going… on?" he asked. "Where's… Mom?"

"Downstairs doin' yer laundry," Sundown told him. "Meantime, I'm just gettin' ya ready fer bed. Arms up." Jeremy obeyed, and he removed his shirt and pants for him

"I can… put on my… pajamas." Jeremy took them and put the bottoms on first. This took him over a minute. Then, Sundown put the boy in bed and tucked him in.

He waited in the living room, and Valerie came upstairs a few minutes later. "Sorry," she said. "I just wanted to get the laundry done in time for Jeremy's trip with Barricade."

"Of course," he said. "Barricade told me 'bout it 'fore I left as I met him at the headquarters."

He retrieved the same CD of country songs they made love along to a month-and-a-half ago from her collection, and put it in the player. As the music started up this time, he took her hand and said softly, "May I have this dance, lil' lady?"

"I'd love to," she replied.

They slow-danced all over the room, yet Valerie was mentally counting the songs that were playing. Seven songs, she decided, then she'd check on the washing machine. When that moment came, she said, "Excuse me, I think the washer may be done."

"I'll handle it, sweetheart," Sundown said. "I'll get it done quickly. Where's the laundry room?"

"Basement," she answered. "In the small hallway next to that TV. Back room. And put about two sheets of fabric softener in there and set it for an hour." He nodded and put the music on pause.

Downstairs, Sundown was putting several items into the dryer at a time, set it as instructed, then hurried back up. They kept dancing to the rest of the CD, close to forty more minutes. When he took the CD out, he saw the time reading 10:48 P.M. "I reckon at least twenty more minutes on that dryer," he said.

"I want to get to bed soon," Valerie said. "I have to be up early tomorrow morning. I'm helping Matt set up to film a commercial. Outdoor football game to promote a damn sports drink. Ugh, what was Mr. Lancer thinking hiring me to lead this one? We DO have some project managers who are men. I hear August Bata is a big football fanatic; this would be something he'd go for. I plan to have a talk with Lancer when this is over. Thank God this'll only take until lunch. And Karen made a doctor's appointment for Jeremy for tomorrow."

"I have a shift to serve at seven in the mornin', too," he agreed. "We'll reset the dryer first thing, then you can fold them when you get home."

Meanwhile, Kim Masterson was looking out her kitchen window into Valerie's backyard. She lived across the back lane from Valerie's house, although they never, ever conversed. She was able to look into Valerie's bedroom window. She had just seen the light go on, and Valerie and Sundown entering. She saw them kissing intimately and undressing each other. She pretended to clean the kitchen, but just keep glancing at their private moment, their intimacy, their nudity. Suddenly, she saw Sundown close Valerie's curtains, and the light go out.

She went to the telephone and dialed Teresa's number.

* * *

At nine o'clock the next morning, a black Ford truck was driving through downtown Empire City. The driver was glaring through the windshield, determined to look for a certain building. He parked at a telephone booth and got out, grabbed the phone book, flipped to the Empire City Yellow Pages under "Advertising." Suddenly, he spotted an advertisement for the Lancer and Sussex Agency. He retrieved a small pad from his jeans pocket and wrote down the address. He stepped back into his truck, studied the address for a bit, then smoothed out his wavy brown hair in the rear view mirror. 

"Oh, Valerie," he snickered evilly. "You incompetent, stupid mother, you. I'll find you, my pretty, and get _my_ son away from you."

He hadn't visited Empire City in years, yet he was able to find the street that had the Lancer and Sussex headquarters. He searched the staff parking lot for that familiar station wagon. But he couldn't find it. He found a vacant spot in the lot for visitors and clients.

He met Teresa when he entered. Immediately, he said, "I'd like to see Valerie Boston, please."

"She's out on assignment," Teresa replied. "Can you come back this afternoon?"

"No, I'd like to see her now," the man replied. "Do you know where she is?"

"She's at the King Richard Park, in a suburb called Garrison Heights," Teresa answered. "She's filming a commercial for a company specializing in energy food and drinks. I must advise you, though, Ms. Boston doesn't like to be interrupted when she is working. She should be free around three this afternoon. Are you sure you can't come back later? Is this important?"

"It is," the man replied, almost spitefully. "My name is Tom Boston, and I used to be married to Ms. Boston. I have some important family matters I need to discuss with her. Thank you for your time, ma'am." He smiled and left the building.

It took almost half an hour, and asking for directions to Garrison Heights, but Tom managed to find a camera crew in a football field. In the distance, he saw a certain blonde woman with her back to him, supervising the action. He grinned, laughed evilly, and said to himself, "Bitch, you're mine now. And so will that kid when I'm through with you."

Meanwhile, Valerie was watching the filming with Matt, a close-up of a thirtysomething athlete gulping down an entire bottle of Escapade. "Here, we'll show all their bodies turning the same color as the liquid, to show energy building up," Matt said. "I've got awesome computer graphics." Both of them were completely unaware of the black truck driving past them, which contained Valerie's haunting past.

"Cut!" Matt called. "That's excellent. Now, we can get a couple more athletes drinking, then shoot some more gaming scenes. Maybe get some dramatic angles."

Valerie looked up, and was about to give more directions when she noticed another man standing off the set. She couldn't tell who he was, but she was soon curious about it, as if she knew him from somewhere before. Then she became scared, as if he were the school bully.

"Oh my God," she whispered loudly. "If that's who I think it is…"

He quietly walked towards her, and his brown hair looked very familiar. As he got closer, more facial features started looking familiar, his nose and mouth. She went from scared to pure horrified as she could identify the stranger now, as he came directly towards her.

"Hello, Valerie," he said.

"Tom!" she cried. "Tom, how the hell did you find me! And what the fuck brings you here to Empire City? I thought the judge told you to stay a certain distance away from me!"

"Your cousin Laura still has our old e-mail address from when we were married," Tom answered. "I see that you're still being passionately permissive towards Jeremy. Not a good thing."

"Yeah?" Valerie remarked. "Well, I see that _you're_ still in Never-Never Land about Jeremy's condition. He still has sensitivities and delicacies that will be with him all his life. I am so sick and tired of people bringing up the spanking issue with me. Going _there_ will only worsen his condition. You know that, and yet you fail to understand it."

"Sensitivities? Delicacies?" Tom shook his head rapidly. "Will you listen to yourself, woman? You're babying him just like you always have been. I'll bet you get your family to do the same thing." He folded his arms and gave her a stare so cold, he suddenly made Valerie shiver. "Tell me, then, how do you discipline him. Time-outs? Straight talking? Those are fucking jokes, Valerie. Spanking, whipping, beating and screaming are the only ways to get kids like Jeremy to behave. _You_ know that, and yet _you_ fail to understand it!"

"Uh, could you please leave?" Matt requested. "We're shooting a commercial here."

"Matt, please!" Valerie objected. "This is between my ex-husband and me." She turned back to Tom. "What else do you want to bring up?"

"How about the fact that you're screwing five members of a special police team at once?" Tom suggested. "All with personal talents beneficial to the force, I hear. You're quite the slut, Valerie. What kind of example is that setting for Jeremy?"

"Maybe it's because they all love me, Tom!" she spat. "Did you ever think of that? You know, a good portion of these guys' downtimes is spent with me. And when they're with me, they show me a special time. They hold me in a strong, sensual manner that makes me feel secure, whether I need it or not. When was the last time _you_ even _touched_ me like that! _They_ always feel that I need a loving kind of security, yet are very considerate for my space. They treat me like I'm royalty. When they're with me, they tell me they love me, and they need me, even in bed! You haven't been like that with me since Jeremy was a baby."

"I don't think the family court judges will care about any of that when I bring this to them," Tom said. "Let's see, Mom is very permissive with her 'special needs' son, uses 'sensitivity' and 'delicacy' as a excuse to keep coddling him, and acts very promiscuous around authority figures. Birth fathers are favored in cases like this. I may have lost my parental rights in our divorce, but I can easily get them back once I expose you."

"Oh, like that'll happen when I tell them that _you_ shook Jeremy as a baby! Or have you forgotten that?"

Tom ignored her remark. "And speaking of exposure, I just want to thank you for _ruining my reputation in Parrish! _My attack on you, and Jeremy's teacher, the day of the sudden finalization made the local news. Because of you, that community sees me as a child abuser. Me, the brilliant, kind, loyal businessman. A lot of people stopped coming to my store over the next two months, and I lost so much money, I had to declare bankruptcy. But, don't worry. I've done some research, and I found some space in Spokane, Washington for me to open a new store, just like the old one. By the time I re-gain custody of _my_ son – mine, not yours – I'll be able to provide for him again. And I'll damn well discipline him however I see fit. _And_ I'll see to it that he never sees you or your little cop-like toys ever again! But I won't be leaving here without him."

Now Valerie became angry. "You bastard!" she seethed. "In three months, I'll learn that you actually murdered him. If you do so much as come _near_ Jeremy–"

"What, you're going to sic your group of Romeos on me?" Tom assumed. "I'll just tell them that I'm his father, and the very woman they're fucking is a jerk and a terrible mother. I'll tell them that my son needs to be exposed to cops who are better role models than that. You may not realize this, but he needs me more than he needs you. And I'm not going to let my son call another man 'Daddy,' never mind some stranger with a badge."

"These 'strangers' with badges are more of fathers to Jeremy than you ever were! Did you know it was his dream to see the Grand Canyon? Sundown, that sheriff with the cowboy hat, he made that come true for him. Jeremy loves him, and he loves Barricade, too, and is very close to the other C.O.P.S. as well. So I think he's doing just fine in my care." She hesitated to reveal his cereal spokeschild job. She didn't want that old accusation of pushing fame on him.

And before Tom said anything else, Valerie took out her cell phone and spat, "Leave this area now, before I call the damn police!"

"This isn't over!" With that, he turned and walked away, not bothering to look back at his ex-wife. Minutes later, she watched his truck drive past the field.

Her expression turned to fear again. "Now what am I going to do?" she asked. "I can't let Tom take Jeremy away from me. Who knows what he'll do to him?"

"So, call the damn cops!" Matt replied. "Get C.O.P.S. headquarters. I'm sure Bulletproof Vess will know what to do." She nodded and dialed, and heard Mace's voice.

"Mace!" she said. "Mace, it's Valerie."

"Valerie?" he asked worriedly. "Valerie, what is it?"

"Oh, Mace," she cried. "Mace, I'm in trouble. Tom's come back, and he threatening me! Can I come see you as soon as I'm finished?"

"Go now, Valerie," Matt advised. "It's okay, I can handle this myself. You need to think of your kid." He took out his cell phone. "I'll tell Mr. Lancer you have an emergency."

Valerie said to Mace, "Never mind, I'm coming to the headquarters right now." She ended the conversation and rushed off the set to her car.

On her way to C.O.P.S. headquarters, she re-activated her cell phone to call Karen at home. She never talked on her cell phone with her car in motion, but this was indeed an emergency. When she heard her answer, she screamed, "Karen! Karen, it's Valerie! Karen, what are you doing right now?"

"Just reading to him, why?" Karen asked. "You sound distressed."

"That's because Jeremy is in grave danger! Tom is in town, and he showed up during my TV commercial assignment!"

Now Karen was horrified, too. "What! What did he say!"

"I don't know how, but Cousin Laura kept our old e-mail address, and must've leaked about my actions at the reunion. Oh, if I ever see her again, I'm going to put a fucking knife in BOTH her breasts! He told me about that – accusing me of permissive parenting – and my romantic connections to the C.O.P.S., and now he said he's going to take custody of Jeremy! He may be looking for him as we speak! And thinking of the C.O.P.S., I'm taking this to them right now."

"Good," Karen said. "I'm going to hang up with you right now, and lock all the doors and windows, in case Tom swings by here. Jeremy's appointment isn't until one-thirty this afternoon; I'm going to request an emergency house call. No way am I taking Jeremy into the city like this! Please call me later about an effective protection plan."

"Fine. Call Mom, Rhonda and her kids, and let them know what's going on. I'll talk to you later." Valerie hung up and started driving faster. She didn't care about a speeding ticket. She was desperate to get help. When she arrived downtown, she saw the traffic was considerably light, thank God. Still, she'd used her turn signals a lot, to get past cars going at normal speeds. She also checked her rear-view mirror for any black truck she happened to see. She knew Tom's license plate, but this wasn't really the time to check it.

* * *

"I don't get this!" Bowzer said at the emergency meeting at the headquarters. "Did she not put a restraining order on Tom? She never told me when we talked about him the night of Blitz's attack." 

"I think she told me when we had our first dinner date," Mace said. "Perhaps, but I don't know. I stopped her when she started cryin', and if she didn't tell me, she was about to."

Both Sundown and Highway sighed and said nothing. Sundown wished he'd agree to hear about Tom to begin with, and Highway wished he'd asked about the restraining order when he brought Tom up the first time. Mace frowned on the moping and said, "C'mon, youse guys, don't kick yourselves over this. You could probably guess how uncomfortable she'd be talkin' bout him."

"No, Mace," Sundown disagreed. "I told Valerie that talkin' 'bout her ex made me mighty angry. I just hate what he did to Jeremy. I know we all did, but damn, why was I so prideful 'bout it?"

"We would have been better prepared had we known about this before," Bulletproof agreed. "Now, the safety of Jeremy Boston is once again our top priority. But we must wait until Valerie arrives so we can formulate a plan properly."

Suddenly, they heard someone run into the building, and saw Valerie walking towards them, taking short, quick breaths, her eyes wide and frantic."

"Yes, I had a restraining order placed upon my goddamn ex-husband," she said. "Just before I filed for divorce. I can't remember what distance it was then, but the judge ordered him to stay a least a thousand feet away from Jeremy and me. I know this information could've been useful two-and-a-half months ago, but my men never really gave me a chance to tell you." She looked expressively at Mace, Sundown, Bowzer and Highway.

"Valerie, you do understand that now we're going to guard you and your son to make sure he doesn't get kidnapped," Bulletproof told her. "From what we heard, your ex-husband sounds dangerous. The question is, why would he want custody of Jeremy?"

Mace, Highway and Bowzer all looked at each other, remembering the fight between Laura and Valerie at the reunion two weekends earlier, and told the others about it. "Valerie," Highway said, "did your cousin…"

"Take this to Tom, yes," she finished. "Luckily, Karen still has Jeremy at her house. She's going to have her doctor make a house call for his appointment, just in case Tom's in the neighborhood."

"Well, we need an effective plan to keep Tom away," Bulletproof insisted. "Anyone have any ideas?"

Valerie suddenly thought of Jeremy's small party, and said, "The family's getting together at my house at around four this afternoon. I guess Mace, Sundown, Bowzer, Highway and Barricade will all have to come. The rest of you, don't worry. I'm sure five officers will be enough to keep us secure. I'll call Barricade when I get back to work. He's taking Jeremy to Washington on Wednesday, so it'll only be until then. Hopefully."

"I have a better idea, Valerie," Bulletproof said. "Let's call Barricade now." They went to the nearest phone, and Bulletproof dialed Barricade's home number.

When he answered, Valerie immediately explained what was going on. Barricade was shocked when he learned Tom was in Empire City. "Jesus Christ," he muttered. "Where's Jeremy now?"

"He's with Karen, he should be fine for now," she replied. "I don't know how she's going to sneak him back into the house without risking Tom finding out. But I want you there for his party this evening."

"I'll be there," he promised. "And as part of his birthday present, I was thinking of taking him to the zoo tomorrow. Maybe if we all go undercover as zoo patrons, we'll be able to nab Tom and at least confront him. Valerie, can you tell me what he looks like?"

"Brilliant idea, Barricade!" Bulletproof declared, then relayed it to the rest of the C.O.P.S.

Valerie added, "Tom's around six-foot-two, two hundred ten pounds. He has brown hair and eyes, a broad double chin, and a medium-sized pointy nose. I don't know what he'll be wearing tomorrow, but he came to the set in a blue button-down shirt, tucked, black slacks, and a favorite pair of brown loafers. He likes to keep himself clean shaven. And he drives a 2015 Ford truck, black, license plate VTM-895." She searched her purse for a recent photograph of him, and found a three-by-five in her mini-photo album.

They all took down the description, then Barricade hung up after saying, "I love you" to Valerie. She'd hoped his competition didn't hear that particular part.

Suddenly, Blackbelt called her name and she jumped. "Valerie, if it's all right with you, I'd like to come to Jeremy's party with Tyler."

"And I'd also like to be there with Brian," Longarm added.

"If you think that's best, then I guess it's okay," Valerie agreed.

They folded their arms, smirked, and said harmoniously, "Trust us."

* * *

Just like on her birthday, Valerie was allowed to leave work early that day. Mr. Lancer had told her, "I understand your son has your sister to protect him, but if what I heard is true, he will be in terrible danger if that ex-husband of yours comes to your neighborhood." As she was packing up for the day, Elise came into her office and asked, "I don't know about this party for Jeremy. Do you really think you should be seen with that bastard roaming about?" 

"Relax," Valerie replied. "Mace, Sundown, Barricade, Bowzer and Highway are all showing up. Plus, Longarm and Blackbelt will attend with their boys. It was confirmed this morning. With all this police at my house, I don't think Tom will dare come near me."

At Valerie's house, she saw Karen's car in her driveway. She got out and looked at the street for any unwanted oncoming traffic. Only a light blue truck and a black Cadillac behind it, but Valerie ran into the house anyway. She saw some tables set up in the living room, reminiscent of her own birthday party, but with more tables and chairs set out. The curtains were closed, obviously for a good reason. Jeremy was watching a cartoon video.

Karen was surprised to see her sister come home early. "Valerie?" she asked. "You weren't supposed to show up for another hour."

"Matt must've told my boss about Tom, as he said he would," Valerie replied. "Only a terrible emergency or special occasion would make Lancer and Sussex agree to send someone home early. How did it go with the doctor?"

"It was only a routine checkup," Karen answered. "Mind you, I had to unlock the door quickly and drag the doctor inside. Luckily, there was no traffic."

"What did Mom and Rhonda say? I never heard from them at all at work today."

"Mom locked her doors as soon as she found out. She also said she'd keep Dad's old rifle beside her. Rhonda says her house has been empty all day, with Sarah working, and Nicole and Caleb clothes shopping with friends. Thank God Bart and the boys don't come home from their camping weekend until later this evening."

About an hour later, the sisters saw two police cars parking outside the house. "That's funny," Valerie said. "I thought those C.O.P.S. would go home and get themselves ready first." She saw Sundown and Barricade coming to the door, and opened it before they rang the bell. They immediately kissed her, then Barricade asked, "So, Valerie, where's the belated birthday boy?"

This prompted Jeremy to come to the front door. "Barricade!" he cried.

Barricade immediately picked him up and squeezed him like a teddy bear. Valerie and Karen laughed and sighed; it looked so sweet and admirable to them. Sundown rolled his eyes, as if someone was asking him the same stupid question over and over.

"And how old are you now, little boy?" Barricade grinned.

"He just turned eleven years old," Sundown answered for Jeremy. "Fer crissake, Barricade, _must_ ya treat him like a lil' kid?"

"Oh, stop it, cowboy man!" Karen said. "He's just having a little fun with him."

Valerie noticed both men came empty-handed. She understood Sundown probably had a good reason, but she wondered why Barricade would come without a birthday present. But she didn't dare say anything in front of her son.

While Barricade and Jeremy continued to play in the living room, Valerie, Karen and Sundown sat down in the dining room. Sundown said to Valerie, "So, how'd yer day go since ya left the headquarters?"

"Terrible," she answered. "I've been on edge all day. Of course, going back to work, I was wondering how the hell Tom knew where I was working on my assignment. Lo and behold, when I walk in, Teresa was there, telling me that Tom had stopped by, and he wanted to know where I was. So what did that bitch do? _She gave away my filming location for my commercial assignment!_ She said that she insisted he come back to see me at a later time. I asked her why she didn't call the damn police. She said – and I swear to God, this is what she actually told me – that Tom looked very non-threatening, she didn't notice any weapons, and that he actually looked cute. I said to her, 'Teresa, he spent ten years abusing Jeremy, shaking and beating the shit out of him. Do you honestly think I moved to Empire City just to advance in my career? I took Jeremy with me for a damn good reason!' Boy, did she get in trouble. Cindy and Elise both overheard this, and they screamed at her. Then, Lancer and Sussex were just about to go to lunch, when we revealed it to them. The next thing we knew, they were all 'treating' Teresa to a private lunch. I've been unable to do any work all afternoon, worried about Mom and Rhonda's kids."

"I hope to hell they fire her!" Sundown said, disgusted. "I would if I were the boss."

Suddenly, they heard another doorbell, and Valerie went to answer it. She was happy to see Highway, Mace and Bowzer, all casually dressed, all carrying wrapped birthday gifts for Jeremy.

"Happy birthday, Jeremy!" they all chorused. Jeremy immediately broke away from Barricade to greet them all, while Valerie collected the gifts. And just as she was about to go back to the dining room, she peeked through the curtains and spotted two more police cars, and two pairs of fathers and sons approaching the houses, the sons carrying gifts.

_Great, Longarm and Blackbelt have arrived_, she thought. Then she said, "Look out the window, Jeremy. There's Brian and Tyler." Jeremy immediately went out to the porch step to greet his friends.

Valerie took the C.O.P.S. into the living room and asked them, "Uh, none of you happened to see Tom's truck on the way here, did you?" Everyone shook their heads.

"I didn't see nothin' black on the way here," Mace said.

"My motorbike goes a bit fast for me to notice anything, sweetheart," Highway said.

"I saw a few black trucks on my way home," Longarm said, "but none of the license plates matched your ex-husband's."

"Still, those curtains are staying closed," Valerie insisted. "I'm not going to risk anything. I'm calling Rhonda and Sarah." She went to the kitchen and dialed her sister's workplace.

When she heard Rhonda's voice, she said, "Rhonda, it's Valerie. Listen, most of the C.O.P.S. are here for Jeremy's party, but I'm keeping the living room curtains closed just in case Tom will be lurking in the area. Just look for an array of parked police vehicles. And be quick when you come into the house. Just come in okay? Don't bother with the doorbell."

"Excellent," Rhonda said. "Richard and I have to pick up Mom and Aunt Margaret after work, then we're picking up dinner. Don't tell Jeremy, but we're thinking of bringing back pizza for everyone. Sarah's picking up Nicole and Caleb on her way from work."

"I'm calling her next," Valerie said. Rhonda gave Sarah's cell phone number. Valerie hung up, dialed her eldest niece, and relayed the same information to her.

"That's great, Aunt Valerie," Sarah replied. "Thank you for telling me. I'm just getting off work now, so I'll go collect Nicole and Caleb, and we'll see you in twenty minutes. Bye." Valerie hung up again.

She spent that time worried about Rhonda's children. What if they saw Tom's truck on the road? She forgot to mention that to Sarah. Longarm noticed how distant Valerie looked, so he shook her a bit.

"Valerie," he said, "you look a little out of it. Is something the matter?"

"No, it's just that I forgot to tell Rhonda and Sarah what to do if they happen to see Tom," she answered. "Oh, what am I saying, he's probably plotting in a motel room somewhere. And he probably wouldn't come near Nicole and Caleb today; he hates shopping, even for himself."

"Don't worry, Valerie," Bowzer said. "Bulletproof said he and Mainframe were working on tracking him down, to see where he's staying. Then, they'll send the regular police there to tell him to stay away from you, and that he'll be arrested if he doesn't leave town."

"He won't," Valerie said. "You should've seen the look on his face, and heard the language he used with me. He really thinks I'm a horrible mother. He is determined to leave Empire City with Jeremy. He's probably finding some cheap lawyer to help him with it right now." Suddenly, she heard her cell phone ring, and retrieved it to check the ID. It read, _H. Boston, 867-0593._ She didn't know who it was, but answered anyway, and got a horrible surprise.

"Valerie!" the caller said. "Valerie, guess who this is, and guess where I am now."

"Tom!" she cried. "What the fuck do you want?"

"I'm at my Uncle Henry's house, in the Masterawn borough." Tom told her. "I meant what I said, Valerie. I'm not leaving Empire City without Jeremy. I didn't bring enough money with me to hire a lawyer here, so I have a solution. Tomorrow, either bring Jeremy to the house before you go to work, or have Karen bring him here. I'll have Uncle here write out a check for two thousand dollars for you to spend on your many boyfriends."

"Oh sure," Valerie scoffed. "More proof that you don't love Jeremy, trying to buy him back. And two thousand is all he's worth to you, isn't he? Well, screw you, fuckface!"

Longarm and Blackbelt left immediately to supervise the boys.

"Valerie, I'm only taking him back because I love him," Tom insisted. "I obviously love him more than you do. You know, I only put my hand and belt on him because I don't want him growing up to be a career criminal."

"Well, if that was your purpose, you did a damn good job, because he doesn't even have the mentality to rob a pet store." Just then, Mace snatched her phone.

"Listen, asshole!" he barked. "If you don't quit harassin' Valerie, I'm gonna use this phone to call Bulletproof, and I'll make damn sure he gets a slew of cops to come bust your ass, understand!" She started to weep, and everyone in the dining room grouped up to hold her.

Valerie felt a little better when Sarah, Nicole and Caleb arrived at the house, and a lot better when the rest of family arrived with dinner and birthday cake. Even so, she stayed silent through dinner and gifts, even when Jeremy hugged his thanks to her for a brand new dictionary. He also smiled over the piggy bank shaped like a police dog from Bowzer, a police-themed coloring and activity book from Mace, and a heart-shaped carving with Jeremy's name engraved from Highway, similar to what Valerie got from Bowzer.

But he was most excited by Barricade's present. He said to Jeremy, "Son, now I know you're going to love this, but in addition to our trip this week, I've decided that you and me will be spending all day at the Empire City Zoo tomorrow. Just the two of us, all day. You'll love it!" Jeremy said nothing, just smiled and gave Barricade the biggest hug he could muster with his arms.

"Have you ever been to the zoo before?" Barricade asked.

"Every… year… as a… school… field trip… from… kindergarten… to… third grade," Jeremy answered. "Mom… would… always… be the one… signing… permission… slips."

All the C.O.P.S. looked at Valerie, who immediately lowered her head a bit. "Yes, it's true," she said. "When we lived in Parrish, Tom and I would fight about letting Jeremy go on field trips every time. He'd wanted to keep him home, or have him be alone and supervised by a strict school staff member, as 'punishment' for some stupid little thing he couldn't help doing."

When Jeremy was opening Polly's gift, the kitchen phone rang. Valerie excused herself to answer it. "Just continue with the presents." She saw Bulletproof on the video screen. "Valerie," he said. "Has Barricade told Jeremy about the zoo trip yet?"

"He just did, and Jeremy's already looking forward to it," Valerie said. She saw her son smile over a pair of new pajamas, and she knew he always shrugged off clothes as gifts.

"Good," Bulletproof replied. "Just before Barricade and the rest of them left, I've assigned my whole team to go undercover as regular zoo patrons. Since Barricade will be the one with Jeremy, I've assigned him and Mirage to play roles of husband and wife."

"That's not a good idea," Valerie protested.

"Valerie, I need to have all my people in their roles on this assignment in case your ex-husband happens to show up there tomorrow," Bulletproof said.

"Well, while I want to approve of this, I distinctly heard Barricade tell Jeremy it will just be the two of them," she told him. "I will see to it that he holds to that promise. No offense to Mirage, but this is another opportunity for Jeremy to have some one-on-one father-son time that all boys dream of. I will not be pleased if that promise is broken."

Bulletproof put her on hold, then Mirage appeared on the screen. "Mirage," she said. "I know you're looking forward to this assignment most of all, but would it be all right if it was just Barricade with Jeremy? I think it's much more important that he spend this time alone with him. Can't you go undercover as a staff member, perhaps a zookeeper or a tour guide?"

"Now that you mention it, that would be a better idea," Mirage said. "I'll ask Bulletproof." She was put on hold then, then moments later, Mirage reported, "Bulletproof approves of the idea, and will call the zoo to ask about a uniform for me."

"Great, I knew you guys would do the right thing," Valerie said. "I'll tell my family this right away. Jeremy needs to know what's going on. Bye." She hung up and returned to the living room.

"What was that about?" Polly asked.

Valerie went up to Jeremy and said, "Honey, I just spoke with Bulletproof. Now I know Barricade forgot to mention this, but he'll be working with the other C.O.P.S. at the zoo tomorrow just in case your Daddy happens to show up. They're going to give you extra protection in case he tries to kidnap you. If he tries anything, your Daddy might go to jail."

Jeremy nodded slowly in acceptance, then said, "I want… my real… Dad… to… go… to jail. I want… him… to… pay… for how… he made me… suffer." He started to cry, then went to Barricade for comfort.

"I do, too, honey," she said, "I do, too."

"Son," Barricade told him, "I know you're scared of your real father. But I promise that after tomorrow, you won't ever have to worry about him again. Never, ever again."

Jeremy kept sobbing until Rhonda presented the Shewfelts' gift to him. He opened it, and became happy again when he saw a brand new backpack for school.

* * *

Valerie noticed the next morning was rather warm and sunny, so she picked a light polo and a pair of jean shorts for Jeremy. He had just finished a bowl of his Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs when she heard the faint honking of a car horn. Valerie looked at the time, twenty minutes after eight. "My, but Barricade is early," she said to herself. "I thought the zoo didn't open until nine." 

She looked out her window to see a police car in her driveway, and Barricade rushing up her walkway. She immediately unlocked her door and opened it as he rang the doorbell. He was dressed in a red button-down short-sleeved shirt that looked like a baseball jersey to her, and gray slacks. She kissed him lightly, suddenly remembering the hopeful objective of the trip.

"I was wondering why you came so early," she said, "but then I remembered this is also a police assignment. You're not going to take him to the headquarters for the briefing, are you? That'll bore him."

"I'm sure Bulletproof will give him some special instructions if his father tries to take him," Barricade assured her. He saw Jeremy smiling and running towards him. "Ready to go, buddy?"

"You bet," Jeremy said.

At C.O.P.S. headquarters, Bulletproof was briefing everyone on their roles for the day. He said, "I want everyone to act casual in their roles, and stay on the lookout for Thomas James Boston." He passed out copies of Tom's photo ID to his team. It looked like a Wanted poster to Jeremy.

Jeremy started looking around at everyone's outfits. Except for Mirage's zookeeper outfit, Bulletproof's "entrance guard" outfit, and Hardtop's zoo guide outfit, they were all dressed casually like he and Barricade were – polos, T-shirts, jeans and slacks. He especially noticed a spaghetti-strapped muscle top Mace was wearing. He pointed at Mace, leaned in toward Barricade, and whispered, "Do you… think… Mace… will get… hit on… by… various… women… in that… outfit?"

Barricade shushed him softly just as Bulletproof called, "Jeremy, are you listening?" The boy put his head on the back of his neck, as Bulletproof approached him. "Jeremy, I want you to stay with Barricade at all times." He pointed at Brian, standing with Longarm. "If you want to go with Brian, ask Barricade first. And any time your father tries to kidnap you, you are to scream as loud as you can. Understand?"

"Yes," Jeremy answered. "Scream… loud… if my Dad… takes… me."

"Good." Bulletproof addressed his team. "Are there any questions?" Silence. "All right, then let's head to the zoo."

When they got to the Empire City Zoo, several officers parked together, believing it would lure Tom inside for a confrontation. Barricade parked away from his colleagues. He went over to the passenger side to get Jeremy out. He thought about letting him walk, but decided to carry him inside instead. Jeremy wrapped his arms around Barricade's neck, feeling some security.

"Don't worry, Jeremy," he said to him. "Just remember to call for help if your father tries to take you."

* * *

Tom had no luck searching for Jeremy at the Rippin' Wild Water Park. He showed the head staff a recent picture he had of Jeremy, but after they checked, the owner reported, "We've searched all the lines, pools and decks. Never mind anyone who looks like your son, there haven't been any disabled children here this morning." Tom spent the next hour searching video arcades all over Empire City. Only a few short boys with glasses, but none that resembled Jeremy. He started to get frustrated, but then said to himself, "Think, Tom, think, think, think. Where else would a kid like Jeremy go to amuse himself?" 

He suddenly thought back to his divorce trial, and what Jeremy's former principal, Mrs. Florence, said on the witness stand. He remembered she said that Jeremy loved to study animals in fourth grade Science. "Of course!" he said to himself. "He's interested in animals. He must be at the zoo!"

He jumped into his truck, and revved it up, on his way to the Empire City Zoo. "Don't worry, Jeremy, my boy," he said. "Daddy's coming to save you." He snickered, which turned into an evil laugh. "And when I do, you'll be all mine forever!"

* * *

Jeremy had been with Barricade, Brian and Longarm all morning. They were studying the Bengal tigers now, a mother feeding and licking her cubs. Jeremy was fascinatingly touched by this, and he said, "Look… how… cute… that is." Two cubs were now running around, playing in the pit. "Aw, but… they… look… so… sweet. Do you… think… the… zoo will… let… me… take one… home?" 

Barricade and Brian laughed, and Barricade answered, "I don't think so, Jeremy. These animals are property of the zoo. I think that would be like stealing."

"Besides, what will the mother Bengal think about being separated from one of her baby cubs?" Brian told him.

They went to the hippopotamus pit next, where they saw Blackbelt talking on his cell phone. When he got off, he said, "Listen, that was Tyler and Mitchell. They've just finished their karate lesson. I'm going to pick them up, then I'm bringing them here, okay?"

"Sure," Longarm replied. "Contact Bulletproof and let him know."

Blackbelt had already met Bulletproof, and gotten permission to pass. On the way to his car, he spotted a black truck parking in the parking lot. He stood still, waiting, and took out Tom's photo sheet to quickly study it. He walked a few paces closer to interact with the truck driver. He studied his face, the hair, the eyes, the chin, and saw it was an exact match of Tom's picture.

"Hey, Tom Boston!" Blackbelt called. Tom looked back at him, and immediately started running into the zoo. Blackbelt ran after him, and took out his walkie-talkie. He pressed to contact all the C.O.P.S. and reported, "Attention all units. Suspect Thomas Boston has been spotted, and he's coming into the zoo. Barricade, Longarm, do whatever you can to protect Jeremy. The rest of you, prepare to make an arrest! Blackbelt out!"

Inside the zoo, Highway, Mace and Sundown gathered around Jeremy with Barricade and Longarm. Highway said, "I have an idea. We need to find Tom so we can confront him face to face. He has to see what he's doing is wrong. This is for Valerie." His colleagues nodded, and Barricade picked Jeremy up. They searched for Tom, and found him when they just turned the corner.

Tom's determination became even greater when he saw them, and he approached them and said, "Ah, so it's Valerie's group of Romeos." He noticed Longarm and Brian standing with them. "Hey, blond man! I never heard anything about you. You fucking my ex-wife, too?"

"No, but my son here just happens to be friends with Jeremy!" Longarm replied. "I'm married, thank you. And I happen to treat my wife and son a whole lot better than you _ever_ treated Valerie and Jeremy."

"He's right!" Bowzer called from behind Tom. "_I'm_ the one who's also in love with Valerie Boston."

Tom turned around to face Bowzer. Blitz was growling at Tom's knees. Both of them approached him, ready to confront.

"Well, this is real nice, having to meet the Casanova Authority Group," Tom grinned. "Now, I know one of you has my son. And I don't think this is healthy for him, boys. What, you think I want him to grow up thinking that all police officers do in their spare time is group up to fuck the same woman or man? No, I want him to have more respect for authority than that. So why don't you just hand him over to me, and I'll leave you alone to enjoy your happy sex lives with Valerie."

"Nothin' doin', pal," Mace growled. "Jeremy's stayin' with us, an' with Valerie. You just want him back so you can smack the hell outta him again, just like you did for the past ten years."

"What the fuck has Valerie been telling you?" Tom asked. "That's it's wrong for parents and guardians to lay their hands on kids like Jeremy? I don't believe this, authority figures who can't tell discipline from abuse. Well, let me tell you, what I did to Jeremy while he lived under MY roof is called _discipline_! Any cop who'd look at this kid's behavior, and not understand that doesn't deserve to carry a badge."

Sundown held Jeremy's hand tightly and brought him forward, Jeremy cowering and clutching the sheriff's body. "There ain't nothin' wrong wit this kid's behavior," he insisted. "If he's got behavior problems, it wouldn't be none of his fault, 'cuz he was shaken so much as a tyke."

"And that should stop me from beating him when he needs it?" Tom scoffed. "Well, you'd be a perfect match for Valerie; you're even talking like her – assuming she'd have the same twang in her voice you have." Then he had a thought. "Say, are any of you parents, besides Mr. Blond Stuff over there?"

"No!" Bowzer replied. "But even if we were, we wouldn't discipline our kids as extremely as you did with Jeremy. Especially when you were shaking him, now _that_ is abuse if we ever heard of it."

Tom gave a loud "ho" sound. "Well, this is just perfect, isn't it? A bunch of non-parents dating a lazy, incompetent know-it-all of a mother, and together, they fuck up this poor kid by giving him the wrong kind of love!"

"You asshole!" Sundown spat. "Is that how ya talked to Valerie when she an' Jeremy were livin' wit ya? Well, it ain't no wonder she took off. Back where I come from, we don't treat ladies the way ya treated yer wife. We comfort 'em whenever they need it, and give 'em all the things they want an' like. We tell 'em how much we love 'em and need 'em, and we express ways of showin' it. We put 'em on damn pedestals, for crissake! And we put family before anythin' else, an' sacrifice so much fer 'em! Especially our children! Wit kids like Jeremy here, we balance the concepts of parent an' friend. We do what we can to keep 'em out of danger, yet give 'em that special love an' attention that'd make normal kids spoiled rotten!"

Suddenly, they noticed Blitz barking at Tom's jeans pocket. Bowzer approached him and retrieved a gun. Tom turned and snatched it out of his hand, then pointed it at Sundown and the rest of the group with Jeremy.

"Really?" Tom said. "Well, let me tell you how it works in the real world, _cowboy_!"

All the C.O.P.S. had Tom surrounded. Right away, they all took out their weapons, and pointed them at him. "_You're_ not going to tell _us_ anything!" Highway shouted. "From what we learned, you never even wanted him! So you're not the one to talk about parenting! To be a parent means you actually wanted the kid from the get-go. Now you take that truck of yours, and get the hell out of Empire City."

"Not without Jeremy!" Tom shouted back. "He's MY son, goddammit! You got that! _MY_ son! You think I'm gonna let him call some cocky know-it-all pig who doesn't even have kids of his own 'Dad!'"

"Oh, so _now_ you want him!" Mace boomed. "After ten years of the shit he got from you, _now_ you wanna be his dad fer real? Well, get this, asshole, it ain't gonna happen! Now we're gonna give ya one last chance!"

Immediately, Tom fired at Sundown's gun, shooting it out of his hand. Then, before the other C.O.P.S. could react, he grabbed Jeremy and ran out of the zoo to his truck. The whole way, Jeremy was screaming, screaming for help, screaming out the names of various C.O.P.S.

"Shut up, you fucking brat!" his father screamed. "You ain't going with them!"

But Jeremy kept screaming anyway. When they got to the truck, Tom pulled the boy's shorts down and pressed him toward his stomach with one hand. With the other, he repeatedly spanked Jeremy's backside hard, making him cry and scream louder. When he was done, Tom threw Jeremy in the truck and screamed. "Any more noise outta you, and you'll really have something to cry about!"

He was about the go to the other side when Longarm appeared before him, and fired his Powercuff, cuffing his right wrist. It didn't stop him, as he ran to the driver's side, smacking Longarm against the back of the car next to the truck. Just as Tom opened the door, however, Sundown and Highway activated their guns, and shot him once in his back each. He turned around, and they shot him twice more in his chest. Tom went down, but Sundown decided to give him one last bullet.

"This is fer Valerie, you mangy, stinkin' varmint!" he declared, then shot him one last time in his chest, going for his heart.

Moments later, an ambulance arrived in the parking lot. Hardtop and Mirage brought the EMT's to Tom, and they cleared the blood away to do CPR, checking for any breath or heartbeat. While they did, Barricade took the crying and screaming Jeremy out of the truck.

He was crying too hard to say anything, but Barricade tried to shush him. "It's all right, son," he said. "It's all over. You're not going to see your bastard father again, I promise. There's no need to cry anymore."

After about five minutes, the EMT's couldn't find anything, so they placed Tom in a body bag. Bulletproof remembered the number for the Lancer and Sussex Advertising Agency, so he dialed the number on his cell phone. When he heard Teresa Laird's voice, he said, "Yeah, this is Bulletproof Vess calling. I need to speak with Valerie Boston, please? It's about her ex-husband."

* * *

**A/N:** To all who see this, I have some exciting C.O.P.S. news. According to a story posted last month on a Website called Space Junk, DIC entertainment, the masterminds behind this brilliant cartoon, has formed a new partnership with something called Shout Factory, and Amazon has listed a 4-disc C.O.P.S. DVD box set. Unfortunately, I checked that site, and they don't have all 65 episodes onto all four discs. Regardless, the release date is set for February 28, 2006, so I encourage all fans of the show to go to the Amazon website and pre-order their box sets… ASAP! I wish all of you a Merry Christmas, and if I don't post again before then, (doubtful) have a happy, safe and healthy New Year. Hope to find more great fanfics (and maybe an increase in this sub-category) in 2006! 


	21. Bad Memories And Worse Gossip

**Author's Note:** Hello C.O.P.S. fans, and welcome to 2006. Hope everyone had a good holiday. Okay, so after I promised ages ago that I would bring Commissioner Highwater into the story, I finally was able to make room for her this chapter. Also, I decided to give Whitney Morgan another crucial role here, as opposed to the cameo in Chapter Eight, and I'm also planning another major role for her in the next one. You'll just have to wait to find out, but I'll leave you guessing. And to skyefire, it's great to hear you are doing well after going two more chapters without a review from you. Anyway, please read and review here.

PS: I have another OC here – Empire City Police Chief Stephen Irons (who doesn't work for Bulletproof.) Hope that's accurate.

* * *

Chapter 21

"That's a huge weight off my whole body," Valerie replied to the news of Tom's death. "Now my thoughts won't be haunted anymore, and Jeremy will be safe."

She was talking at the front desk, after being paged over the PA. Soon, she thought she heard Hardtop's voice in the background, asking to speak to her. She cringed, her disaster date two months ago coming back to her. Bulletproof said, "Listen, Valerie, I'm going to hand it over to Hardtop for a few moments. He's just informed the news. I'll put him on."

She inwardly prayed that Hardtop wouldn't ask her out again. She decided long ago that Whitney Morgan could have him. But when she saw him, she noticed his face looked somber. It definitely wasn't one to discuss anything personal. "Hardtop?" she called.

"Valerie," he said. "Listen, I just talked with Whitney Morgan, and she's bringing a camera crew over right now. She's just informed the news people back at the TV studio of the breaking story. I told her a few things about you and Tom, and your romances with Sundown and Highway and some others, and she wants to ask you a few questions."

Valerie looked interested, but was worried about her pay being docked. Suddenly, Mr. Sussex was walking by her, so she put Hardtop on hold.

"Mr. Sussex," she said, "I have the police on the phone. Tom's been gunned down by a couple of officers in the Empire City Zoo parking lot, and the news picked it up. They know about my connections, and want to ask me about them."

"But aren't you in the middle of the graphics and editing for the Escapade commercial with Matt?" he asked. "I don't think you can leave now. Can't this wait for the six o'clock news?"

"Sir, we're talking about my former husband and my new loves," Valerie responded. "I am out of Tom's shadow, and can truly begin a new life. And Jeremy's all right and safe now, thank God. Bulletproof told me." Mr. Sussex still wasn't convinced. "It's a breaking story, sir. And given my involvement, they'll want to hear my side. Besides, it was Sundown and Highway that shot Tom. I'm sure that if I expose Tom myself, it will save _them_ from an investigation."

"But, Valerie…"

"Look, Mr. Lancer assigned this to me, and it was his idea to send me home early yesterday when he first learned about Tom being here, remember? I think he'll be pleased to hear this news. I can come right back afterwards and work through the rest of my lunch hour. It's not due until the end of the day, right?"

Suddenly, Mr. Lancer joined in the conversation. Mr. Sussex told his business partner about it, and Mr. Lancer looked just as joyous as Valerie. He said, "That's excellent news, Valerie! Of course, I won't be able to see it at noon, but I'll be delighted to watch you on TV at perhaps ten tonight. Go, and be quick. If this is the first story they'll air, you can't miss it. Just come back as soon as it's done." Valerie nodded, then told Hardtop, "I'll be there. Where's the zoo?" and jotted down directions.

Outside, she checked the time, seventeen minutes until noon. She estimated she would get to the zoo in time if she went sixty miles an hour.

* * *

The clock in Valerie's car read noon when she arrived at the zoo parking lot. She saw a TV news crew, but no ambulances. She concluded that Tom had already been taken to the morgue. She parked in the first available spot she found, and ran over to where the C.O.P.S. and news crew were. She saw Barricade still holding Jeremy, so she group-hugged them first. Then she heard two men call her name harmoniously. She saw Sundown and Highway, and threw herself into another group hug. 

"Oh, sweet Jesus, thank you!" she breathed. "Now, I can live in peace without ever having to think of him."

"He ain't ever gonna be abused no more," Sundown assured her. "That there's a guarantee."

Her relief was interrupted for a bit when she felt a tap on his shoulder, and heard another woman clearing her throat. She turned and saw ace reporter Whitney Morgan, and remembered why she came in the first place.

"Ms. Morgan!" she cried. "Oh, I'm sorry to keep you waiting, I'm just so relieved that the C.O.P.S. were able to keep my son from being taken."

"That's great, but you have to get yourself ready for the camera," Whitney replied. "I want to ask about what your husband said to you. But first, I have to interview some of the C.O.P.S. for their actions."

Valerie waited with Barricade, while Whitney interviewed Bulletproof, Blackbelt and Sundown. She tried to keep herself from weeping as Sundown said, "Highway an' I had Jeremy on our minds when we shot Tom Boston, mainly his protection. He was with Barricade most of the time, but I brought that boy forward, to show his blasted father just how innocent the boy was. But he'd never listened. The next thing I knew, Bowzer an' Blitz found a gun in his pocket, an' he was poised to shoot us if we ever tried anythin' funny. An' wit my grip on Jeremy, Tom was still able to snatch him from me. We saw Jeremy was already in the truck, but we soon learned that he wasn't 'bout to get arrested quietly, so we shot him just to stop him in his tracks."

"And who was the one who put the bullet that killed him?" Whitney asked.

"That was me, and it was only fer Valerie," Sundown answered. "I understood very well how much Tom Boston disgraced an' frightened Valerie – we all did. An' we all knew how much he frightened Jeremy. It wasn't that we didn't reckon he deserved to live, it was more like deliverin' justice to a protective, conscious mama an' her broken child."

Next, Whitney asked Valerie about Tom's business in Empire City. Valerie said, "One of my cousins who's a proudly strict disciplinarian, she told my ex-husband about a fight we had about Jeremy, at a recent family function. Tom told me himself. The judge who finalized our divorce ordered that he stay at least a thousand feet away from me and Jeremy, because of his abusive behavior and arrogant attitude. Needless to say, I was horrified when I saw him again."

"And what exactly did he say to you?" Whitney asked.

"He used the reunion incident to accuse me of bad parenting," Valerie answered, "and said he planned to take me to court for custody. Given the abusive father he was in the past, I didn't want it to happen. If Sundown hadn't killed Tom, as Bulletproof told me, he would've taken Jeremy, and probably also murdered him."

"How was he abusive to him?"

"Well, without going into great detail, he'd shaken him every time he'd made a noise up until he was around two, then continued to spank, whip and beat him despite his damage until I left him. You do the math. If anything, I'd say this is one of few killings that are justified."

Whitney nodded, somehow convinced, then turned to the camera. "It seems that, judging by what was said here," she said boldly, "the shooting death of Thomas Boston was indeed justified, as Valerie Boston stated. Hopefully, this will persuade the authorities to not go through with any standard police investigations."

Soon, the newscast ended, and Valerie was relieved. Before she left, she hugged Jeremy, thankful he was safe. Then, she had him go off with Longarm and Brian, so she could group-hug with Sundown, Highway and Barricade. She said, "Thanks a lot, you guys. Now I can truly start over. And thank you again for all you've done."

"Hey, anything for the woman we love," Barricade replied.

When she let go, she told them, "I have to get back to work now. Barricade, why don't you take Jeremy to lunch now? He must be starving."

"Sure thing," he said. "And maybe when you're finished work, you can come over to my house? I've got some packaged roast beef thawing in the kitchen sink."

"I'd love to, but I'd have to go home and pack a bag for Jeremy."

"Oh, I haven't forgotten. Still got the tickets in a safe place at home. But I can bring Jeremy to the house around four, and we'll take care of that for you. You just worry about your overnight bag. We have a mid-morning flight, around ten-thirty."

"I guess this means I get to spend the night with you. You know I'd love to." They kissed.

"Listen, I got to get back," she said. "Mr. Lancer and Matt are waiting for me. We're still finishing editing that Escapade thing." She went to Jeremy. "Be as well-behaved as you can for Barricade, okay? I'll see you later tonight." She walked quickly back to her car and drove off. As she did, Hardtop was watching her leave.

Highway approached him. "What are you thinking about?" he asked. "How you regret what you did that night, and let a good thing get away?"

"No," Hardtop answered. "I was just wondering when she's going to trade that old station wagon in for something more modern."

* * *

"Absolutely not!" Bulletproof protested. "I refuse to put Sundown and Highway under investigation!" 

Bulletproof and Police Commissioner Highwater were at C.O.P.S. headquarters that afternoon. They were arguing with Stephen Irons, chief of the Empire City Police, about Tom Boston's shooting.

"It is standard police procedure, Agent Vess," Irons argued. "We need to know if the killing was, in fact, justified, or if it was just another police brutality murder."

"Of course it was justified, Chief Irons!" Highwater insisted. "Didn't you listen to any of the testimonies? All of them had me convinced that Sheriff Calhoun and Patrolman Harlson did the right thing. I thought the words of Ms. Valerie Boston were the most powerful. From what I've heard, that man is a monster, worse than any criminal we've encountered in all our careers. And while I've never really met her or young Jeremy, I can tell you that what they went through with him had me completely disturbed!"

"Look, just because Ms. Boston is romantically linked to Calhoun and Harlson, and several other of your men," Irons said, "it doesn't mean that what they did isn't grounds for dismissal. What did Tom Boston do to deserve his fate, anyway?"

"How about torture a mentally and physically challenged child who is unable to defend himself for the first ten years of his life!" Bulletproof exploded. "And if I remember correctly, he would also do the same to Valerie whenever she tried to defend him. Domestic abuse _and_ child abuse all in one, and it went on for too long. He had tried to take the boy away from his mother today, and as all my followers can tell you, he'd tried to get into his truck when Longarm tried to apprehend him. He would've already left by the time someone brought a taser! Do you think we had any other choice!"

"Forgive me if I sound insensitive," Irons said, "but last time I checked, laying one's hand on a special needs child was not grounds for on-the-spot execution. At the very least, it should be grounds for hard prison time if the perpetrator's found guilty."

Bulletproof and Highwater gave mixed reactions, relieved that Irons thought what Tom did was criminal, but still angry that he wouldn't let Sundown and Highway off.

"In my opinion, this is still something we should take to court," Irons said. "Perhaps we can get Ms. Boston to testify. If she and the rest of you can persuade the judge that this was, in fact, justified, maybe Calhoun and Harlson can both be acquitted. But I don't know how the victim's family will react in the end."

"I'm sure this will help open their eyes, and make them see that Ms. Boston has been the victim in this case," Highwater said. She and Bulletproof could only hope, anyway.

"I'm still not going to suspend them at all, never mind without pay," Bulletproof insisted. "They're much too valuable to my team. All my people are!"

* * *

Valerie greeted Barricade at his house at around six that evening, her overnight bag in her hand. He smiled and said, "You're just in time. Dinner should be ready in just a few minutes. Your son is just starving." 

"So am I," she agreed.

She found Jeremy sitting in front of the TV, a show for tweens just starting. She didn't feel like switching to the news, and she assumed he was just staring blankly at the screen, so she just clicked it off. "Sweetie?" she said. "Jeremy, I think it's almost time for dinner." She brought him off the sofa, to the dining table. It was all set, complete with wine goblets for her and Barricade, and a milkglass for Jeremy. She let go, and the boy sat in his place.

When Barricade took the roast out of the oven, Valerie stared at it and said, "That looks beautiful. And so tempting. I haven't had roast beef since my stay at the Best Western during my divorce." She stared at the potatoes in the water. "You know, I never let Jeremy eat potato skins. The last time he ate skins, he was six years old, and he couldn't digest them very well. In fact, he almost choked on them one time. And guess who had to take him to the emergency room all by herself." She rolled her eyes. "Now, I'll take the skins off before serving Jeremy, or serve mashed potatoes, like Mom always did. It would always lead to fights."

Barricade had put the microwave on for two minutes, canned peas and carrots. "I take it your husband hated you removing the skins?" he guessed.

She nodded. "He said it took the nutrition out of the potato," she explained. "Obviously, he didn't care if Jeremy choked or not. Meantime, I will even sacrifice some nutrition to make sure nothing happens to him. Since then, every time I cooked potatoes, we'd have a big shit argument about me overprotecting and coddling him."

Barricade sensed Valerie was going to cry, so he took the boiling potatoes off the heat, and held her for a few moments. "Don't worry, love," he whispered. "Tom is gone now. It's your freedom, enjoy it. You need to forget about your past."

"I know, you're right," she agreed. "It's just so hard when you've been haunted by all the years."

Yet, she stopped herself from crying, and looked at the potatoes in the pot. "I'll drain those for you. Where's your colander?" Barricade retrieved one from the drawers below the microwave, and Valerie drained them in the sink. "I'm mashing Jeremy's up and removing the skins."

When they sat down, Valerie looked out the window and said, "It's still so warm. I can't believe we're eating inside like last time. Next summer, you should look into buying an outdoor table, so we can eat outside when you just happen to barbeque. And we can even throw summer parties."

"Yeah, then maybe I'll build a deck or a gazebo," Barricade said. "Providing it's this nice again next summer, I'll look into it."

"It'd be nice to have company over more often," she commented. "Back when I lived in Indiana, we'd have fewer and fewer houseguests as Jeremy got older, until people just stopped coming over altogether." She ate some roast beef with vegetables. "Oooh, this is delicious. You know, this is probably the only carrots I'll eat, cubed and canned. This and corn and peas are the only things I'll feed Jeremy, where vegetables are concerned."

Barricade sighed. "Let me guess, another quarreling issue with your husband?"

"How'd you guess?" she sighed back. "I remember when Tom would cook green and yellow beans, beets, broccoli, cauliflower and turnip. Now don't even get me started on those; I will not touch them with a thirty-foot pole. Anyway, Jeremy would eat some, then loudly complain that he doesn't like them. That bastard would scream at him until he sent him to his room. And you wouldn't believe what he'd do to him later."

Barricade reached across to hold her hand. "Honey, we're here to celebrate your freedom. That's what this dinner is for."

"The point is that _I _won't even eat that shit, so how could he expect Jeremy to?" She decided to stop before she could depress herself, and immediately thought of her commercial. "We're just finishing up the editing for the Escapade commercial. Matt's staying late so he could put on the finishing touches. You should see it when we release it. It's a football game, but Matt and I used computer graphics to make the players look all liquidy. Then, when they drink, their bodies turn the same color as the sports drink. We're looking at the commercial tomorrow morning, and Mr. Lancer called the company that makes this stuff to schedule a meeting tomorrow afternoon."

"Sounds interesting," he replied. "I'm looking forward to seeing it on TV already."

Valerie asked about Barricade's afternoon, and he talked about taking Jeremy to see various kinds of fish and reptiles. "He was so mystified by it all, I could tell," he said. "Though the piranhas scared him when they showed their teeth. And he knows all about poisonous snakes, because he tried to avoid them, too, copperheads and such. Fortunately, I calmed him down, and explained that they're all behind glass, so they won't get to him. You should've seen how close he stuck to me, anyway."

Valerie laughed. "I'm not surprised," she said. "He'd sometimes have nightmares about wild animals. Once, he had a nightmare that he saw the M-G-M lion jump out of its logo, looking at him and chasing him as if Jeremy was lunch. He had the same one for a month. I think that was when I had the TV up a bit too loud." Barricade laughed along with it.

After dinner, she said, "Mmm, that was delicious. That roast was wonderful. Where did you buy it? I think maybe I'll go out an buy a few packages of it myself."

I'm sure you can get it at any supermarket in the meat section," Barricade said. "If you can't find it where you shop, I suggest you go all the way to borough of Harmsville and Matt's Meats."

As they were doing the dishes, Valerie stared out the window and said, "Look how beautiful it is outside. If only I'd brought my swimsuit, we'd take a dip in your Jacuzzi again. What do you say we take Jeremy out for an evening walk?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Barricade responded. "I think it would be great for him. Do you know how often he gets out when he's with your sister?"

"You mean when she's not taking him into the city?" Valerie giggled and dried out a goblet. "Well, Drew and Sheldon work some days, and Karen does work from her computer, and she also decorates other people's apartments. And keep in mind, Jeremy isn't mobile enough to play active sports. But Karen will take him out about three days a week. She once told me of a playground down our street that Jeremy likes to go to, and he sometimes sees Brian and Tyler coming to play, too. God, but I wonder where _they_ live. Cindy and Elise have _got_ to invite me over to their places one of these days."

He put his arm around her. "Looks like someone needs to get out now." They went to the living room for Jeremy. He was sitting in the middle of the floor, flipping through a new issue of _Sports Illustrated_.

"C'mon, Jeremy," Barricade said. He squatted down to the boy. "How would you like to go for a nice walk with your Mom and me?" Jeremy smiled and stumbled to get up.

Barricade, Valerie and Jeremy were holding hands, looking like a small link, as they walked down Masterland. She held her son's hand rather tightly every time they approached a stop sign. Jeremy spent the whole walk just looking around at the houses and other walkers. The lovers said nothing until they passed the first stop sign, then Barricade said, "Valerie?"

She turned to him, and he gripped her hand tighter. "Oh, Valerie, but do you know what I do when I have to sleep alone in between my shifts? I look at the empty space in my bed, and pretend it's you lying there. I go crazy in my dreams, as I embrace you constantly in my passion! I lie awake wondering where you are, and whom you're with."

"Barricade, please!" she said. "You're sounding a might bit desperate."

"I'm serious, Valerie. I can't go on any longer bearing these thoughts. And if it weren't for Jeremy accompanying me, I would be haunted with this on my trip tomorrow."

She gasped suddenly. "I can't believe this, Barricade. Are you asking me to live with you?"

"Once you make your decision. And Valerie, I want you to decide on me."

She stopped and stared at him, into his eyes. Part of her wanted to tell her that Barricade was moving too fast, that his come-ons were ruining a wonderful experience. But part of her also wanted to tell her to accept this, that he was madly, seriously in love with her, and that the competition must end as soon as possible. Soon, Barricade moved in to kiss her, but she stopped him.

"Uh, Barricade," she said, "I hate to ruin this romantic advance, but there's a child present. Can this possibly wait until we get home, and Jeremy is out of sight?"

He stopped, his heated passion suddenly cooled down. "But of course, my love." He kissed the back of her hand. "I will try to hold back feelings for the next while."

They walked down to the end of Masterland, then turned onto Saveweed Crescent. It was quiet for the rest of the walk. When they got to Oparack Street, Barricade said, "Let's turn on here."

"Ah, yes, I remember," Valerie agreed. "On our walks, this street took my sisters and me back to Masterland."

It continued to be quiet – other than Jeremy's sudden incoherent outburst on Oparack – for the rest of the walk. Barricade and Valerie now had their arms around each other, Valerie's free hand still holding Jeremy's. She smiled as she could see his house in the distance. She saw Linda Fortense sitting on the front porch with her husband and several friends as they passed her house. Valerie waved at her and called her name, but she just stared and went back to her group. She overheard her saying it was nobody when she was asked who Valerie was. She could still see Linda as she walked on Barricade's walkway. Valerie tried giving her "the finger" as she went into his house, but she didn't think Linda noticed.

Inside the house, Barricade put cartoons on for Jeremy, then set up a game of Risk for himself and Valerie in the dining room. It took them almost forty minutes to play, then afterwards, Barricade said, "I'll help Jeremy with his bath. You put this away, then get settled in the living room." Valerie nodded, and he proceeded to pick up Jeremy from the sofa, en route to the bathroom.

Barricade had to help him undress then, aware that Jeremy may splash around a bit, took his own shirt off. He tested the water; it was very warm, and only went up to Jeremy's chest. He was scrubbing the boy's chest, back and shoulders with soap as he splashed around, but had to hold his arms steady to wash them. With the depth of the water, it was nearly impossible to wash his legs and feet. So he just proceeded with his hair, shampooing and using a cup to rinse.

Just as he got Jeremy out, he heard a knock. He opened, and Valerie poked in her arm with Jeremy's pajamas. "I put this into my overnight bag, along with some jeans for him to wear tomorrow," she said. Barricade said his thanks, then dressed Jeremy quickly, and tucked him into bed. Outside the spare bedroom, the crowd control officer smirked, not bothering to put his shirt back on.

He proceeded to the living room, where he gave a Cheshire cat grin to Valerie. He turned off the TV, then pressed her down on the sofa and started making love. She put her arms around him, and let her hands rub all over his bare back. They were moaning and panting as quietly as they could. No screaming; they were worried about waking Jeremy. In the midst of the passion, Barricade unbuttoned and removed her blouse, unhooked and slid off her bra.

"Valerie," he breathed, "you know we won't be making love like this for the next week." Soon after, they fell onto the floor, crashing into the coffee table, continuing their love.

They were too enamored to hear the doorbell, and barely heard anything as Linda proceeded into the house. "Barricade," she said. "Barricade, I have an emergency." She went into the living room, and screamed at what she saw. Barricade and Valerie sprawled on the floor, both topless, his body on hers. When they saw her, they screamed horribly and sat up, Valerie caressing her breasts.

"Oh, Jesus Christ!" Linda seethed, then ran out of the house before Barricade could ask what she wanted. Both were too embarrassed and ashamed to go after her.

When she got back to her house, she told her friends exactly what she saw. She excused herself, then called Kim Masterson.

"Kim?" she said. "Kim, it's Linda. Listen, I was over at Barricade's house to ask for an extra egg for baking, and you'll never guess what I saw! Him and Valerie doing it in the living room." She mentioned the toplessness, and Kim looked and sounded excited.

"Wow, I was so focused on Valerie's bad parenting, that I never realized what a whore she really was," Kim said. "Oh, this will be perfect for tomorrow."

Linda hung up, then called some other people, first Nancy Munich, then Donna Grayson, Michelle Hartman, and finally, Teresa.

* * *

The next morning, after her breakfast, Valerie gave both Barricade and Jeremy goodbye kisses, then stared at Linda's porch from her car. She never came out of her house. Valerie sighed, and quickly got in and drove off. She should remember the route Barricade took to take her to work. She just prayed none of her co-workers would see her until she got there. 

When she arrived, she saw Teresa speaking with Mr. Lancer. She said, "Good morning, Mr. Lancer and Teresa." But the conversation stopped abruptly as Teresa just gave her a light glare.

"Valerie," Mr. Lancer said. "I received an e-mail from Matt. The commercial you made has been processed to DVD disc, and is ready for viewing and approval. He should be here at any moment. I'll meet you in my office in a few minutes." She nodded and headed towards Mr. Lancer's head office.

She tried to watch the video but it was too hard. She kept thinking about Linda, wondering whom she told about her and Barricade's latest love session. Teresa must have been one of them; she could tell by the looks she gave her. She just stared at the computer-based images – the most noticeable thing about the project. She smiled normally when Mr. Lancer said, "That was brilliant, you two. I'm very pleased with these efforts of yours. Whose idea was it to use computerized liquid athletes?" Matt raised his hand.

"Well, you hit the nail straight on the head," Mr. Lancer said. "This is exactly the kind of niche companies want for their sports drinks – boosts of colorful energy from their product. They're going to love it."

"Thank you," Valerie said.

Later that morning, Valerie was in her office, typing her speech for the Escapade drink when Elise knocked on her door. She entered and said, "Listen, I got a call from Kim last night about you and Barricade. She'd heard it all from Linda."

"I hope you told them both to screw off," Valerie said.

"I didn't," Elise replied, "but I did walk into Linda's office and told her what I heard. She said she walked in and found you two on the floor. I told her that she had no right to gossip about you, even if it was true. For crissake, Valerie, you are the smartest, most talented, most respectable woman in the advertising business. Obviously. And if she had any respect for Barricade, Longarm, or any of the other C.O.P.S., she'd stop saying shocking, demeaning things about their personal lives. What they do in their own homes on their off-time is their business. 'Practice what you preach to your kids,' is what I told her."

Valerie smirked. "I'm wondering _what_ her kids would think of her acting so malicious. I hope they use that to rebel against her. What'd she say?"

"She told me, 'I've been happily married to the same man for nineteen years. And I've never dated more than one man at a time in my life.' As if that's any excuse to spread around vile rumors like that. I told her that you were just confused about who you wanted."

"That's true," Valerie agreed. "I've been seeing more of Barricade and Sundown than I have the others, but they all treat me like I'm worthy. I've never been this happy since two years into my marriage to Tom – may he roast in Hell."

"She didn't care," Elise said. "Linda's all, 'It doesn't matter. The point is she's sleeping with five men at once, all members of authority, so she qualifies as a skank with a uniform fetish.' And how dare she say that Jeremy belongs in a group home! Oooh, but I plan to take this to Mr. Sussex. He should fire Linda, and possibly Kim as well."

Valerie noticed Mr. Sussex standing at her doorway, sheets in hand. "Speaking of which…" she said. Elise turned and gasped when she saw him.

"Mr. Sussex," she said. "I know I should be working, but I'm just consoling Valerie about the latest rumor I've heard of her."

He glowered and replied, "Oh, this will be very interesting! Looks like somebody will be fired. They were warned about this." He turned to Valerie. "Valerie, there are people from 104.9 JEWEL-FM who wish to see you."

Valerie looked annoyed. "Didn't they make an appointment?" she asked. "I'm writing up a sales speech for the Escapade meeting this afternoon."

"They spoke to me yesterday about becoming new clients," he answered. "They said it's only a small project. Come with me to the conference room."

Valerie followed Mr. Sussex, all the while looking out for anyone who may pester her about the night before. But the hallways were deserted. In the conference room, there were a short, aging man, graying brown hair, in a beige suit and purple and pink-striped tie. He was with a woman in a matching violet blouse and skirt. She was much younger; her hair looked about as red as Nightshade's, and probably in the same style, too. Valerie cringed a bit, but knew it wasn't the same bitch who'd been bothering her about Mace. She'd never seen Nightshade in business attire.

"Valerie Boston?" the man said, shaking her hand. "I'm Paul Quinette, vice-president of operations at JEWEL-FM radio. And this is Melissa Shores, our marketing director. Normally, we wouldn't come to an advertising agency for promotions towards our station, but apparently, some of this company's staff listen to our morning show in their offices, and Mr. Sussex, one woman mentioned this place when one of the deejays, Marcus, asked her where she worked. Apparently, she recommended this business for whenever we need any new promotions."

Ms. Shores added, "So, Marcus sent a memo to Mr. Quinette and myself, and over lunch last Saturday, and we decided to give to give you people a try."

"That's wonderful," Valerie said. "On behalf of Mr. Sussex, I'd like to say that we pride ourselves on exceptional advertising, and have some of the hardest workers employed and assigned to various teams. I guarantee you will be recommending us to other stations."

"Ms. Boston," Mr. Quinette said, "when I brought this idea to my wife, she was very quick to recommend you. She said you have led two very successful promotions for her company, Evie Cosmetics. As well, both Lancer and Sussex have said that you've had a string of other successful work, including a breakfast cereal advertisement that has led to bigger things. Sussex said that print ad was an individual effort."

Valerie smiled her thanks to Mr. Sussex.

Mr. Quinette explained, "Now, Ms. Boston, you may have listened to our station before, but let me explain anyway. At JEWEL-FM, we specialize in a variety of mostly light rock and pop, and easy listening. Hits from the 80's up to today. Genres include rock, both classic and modern, rhythm and blues, pop, adult pop, adult alternative and jazz. We tend to stay away from hip-hop, rap, harder punk rock and heavy metal. In this spirit, we would like you to present to us a radio commercial for our station, at least thirty seconds. You will have access to a recording studio that we use for such projects, I'll e-mail with the address. Since this is relatively small, you won't be needing an advertising team. Simply go over your radio script with Mr. Sussex, then you can advertise for auditions, then you'll be all set."

"Of course, you'll have to put our music into the commercial," Ms. Shores said. "Not whole versions of songs, though, just five-second long samplings. We'll e-mail you a list of our artists so you can get motivated in that area."

"Great," Valerie replied. "I'll give you addresses for both my laptop and home computer." She proceeded to write them both down. "Of course, I can't get started on this right away. I have a meeting for the Escapade commercial after lunch today."

"That's all right," Mr. Quinette said. "You can get started on it whenever you get a chance. "We'll be looking at next Monday as the due date."

"If I can get this done earlier, you can come over to my place," Valerie offered. She added her home address before giving it to Ms. Shores. "I'll call you when I do finish."

"Thank you." Mr. Quinette and Ms. Shores both shook her hand again.

On her way back to her office, past the coffee room, she met a crowd of staff members going for break, all of whom heard about her and Barricade, she guessed. The variety of names and comments made her suspect.

"Slut!"

"Hey, Valerie, which member of C.O.P.S. are you going to be with tonight?"

"Tramp!"

Valerie looked back at the crowd and glared. She hoped Elise would tell Mr. Sussex about the gossip soon.

* * *

When she got home, Valerie received e-mail from Melissa Shores. A list of songs that JEWEL-FM played on the air, an idea formed by Mr. Sussex, she stated. Valerie looked it over right away, and was impressed by the array of eras. Artists like Madonna, Jewel, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Celine Dion were mentioned. Rhonda and Karen's favorites from when they were young; maybe they listened to this station, too. But there were also acts she wasn't so familiar with; an all-girl rock band called Purple Rainbow, a mainstream pop-rock singer named Davina Dallas, and singer Vaneque, whom Valerie remembered from that magazine she bought. She put checkmarks behind all those artists to mention in her commercial. She knew she had a program to download music on the computer Karen got for her, complete with spy protection; she'd search for music from the younger artists there. For the more "retro" acts, she'd check her jukebox. Maybe she should also download their music, too, and burn a CD to help Mr. Sussex choose. 

She went to her computer with her disc, and retrieved her radio ad script. The plot was a regular argument between mother and daughter over what radio station to listen to; mother wanted to listen to some old music, daughter wanted current Top 40 rock music. The idea was that they'd compromise with JEWEL-FM. She closed with a line for the daughter: _So, Mom, you think I should crank it up when we get to my music?_, then taking it back. She hoped they'd like the new slogan to go with it: _It's music everyone can agree on._

She selected some older and newer songs, then call Karen on her cell phone.

"Karen," she said. "Listen, do you have a program for downloading music on your computer? I'm doing a radio commercial for JEWEL-FM 107.9, but I don't have anything to help on either my laptop or computer, and I need some songs." She dictated a list of songs she wanted.

"No problem, I can get it to you tonight," Karen said. "What's the commercial about?"

"A spat between mother and daughter over what radio station to listen to, until they compromise on Jewel. I'm thinking of putting Rhonda in with either Nicole or Sarah."

Then her phone rang, so she said, "Listen, I have to call you back. My real phone's going off." She hung up and ran to the kitchen. She saw Rhonda's name on the ID. "Rhonda, hi! I've just started talking with Karen about you."

"Valerie," Rhonda said excitedly. "Guess who has this Friday and all of next week off!"

"Rhonda, congratulations!" she replied.

"Actually, both Richard and I have the time off. Both our bosses feel we've been working so hard all summer, and all the rest of the staff has had their paid vacation time, so they didn't want to leave us out."

"That's wonderful, because I'll be needing you and at least one of your daughters on Friday. How would you two like to be in a radio commercial I'm producing?" She explained the concept, and Rhonda became very excited.

"You're kidding me," she said. "I have Jewel locked on my radio in both my office and car. I think Sarah will be at work that day, but Nicole may be free. Mind you, though, she'll only listen to Jewel if they play any good rock, or any cute non-cheesy boy singers. I'll ask her."

Valerie waited a few moments, listening to muffled conversation, then Rhonda returned. "She says she'd love to. Can you e-mail the scripts?"

"I have to put the music together first. I haven't filled in any artists yet. Karen's making a CD right now, and I'll be going over it with Mr. Sussex first thing tomorrow morning. I'll update the script, and send it to you via e-mail around noon tomorrow."

"Nice. So, how'd that other commercial of yours go?"

"They thought it was very interesting. The liquid people thing really wowed them. They'll give us their answer sometime tomorrow morning."

"Excellent. So, what else is happening at work?"

"Well, thanks to that bitch Mom, Linda Fortense, now I'm once again the subject of gossip." She told of her date with Barricade the night before, and Linda walking into his house without having anyone answer, and when she caught them making love. "She must've told the whole staff, because Elise came to console me, saying she told that bitch off, and most of them was glaring and commenting at me. I can't tell if Cindy was among them; she's never spoken to me. I'll have to call her later."

"So it was a mediocre day," Rhonda assumed.

"You could say that."

They talked for fifteen more minutes before Valerie decided to start dinner for herself. She retrieved a can of homemade soup. Maybe tomorrow, she'll go grocery shopping, and perhaps see about some roasts at the supermarket, she decided.

At seven in the evening, she called Karen. "I'm sorry I didn't call you back right away," she said.

"I kind of guessed you went to make your dinner after you talked with Rhonda," she responded. "Probably something quick for yourself because Jeremy's not here, right? Did he already leave for Washington?"

"Yes, but I still have yet to hear from Barricade." Then, Valerie started telling everything she told Rhonda about the rest of her day, including the Escapade meeting and the comments, which led to her story about Linda.

"Damn, that must've sucked!" Karen griped. "I hope your top brasses let that bitch have it. If I were in their position, she would no longer be working at my company."

"Mr. Sussex told me about that," Valerie said. "It was a meeting I was excluded from. I asked him why he just couldn't send a warning memo to the offenders. But he said that he got confessions from Donna, Kim and Teresa that they were spreading the gossip, too. Oh, but I could've guessed that Teresa would tell everyone if _she_ found out! And I'm sure Donna was trying to get back at me for the Breath For Life thing. And God knows Kim hates my parenting. He said one more strike and that entire group would be out of jobs. I say at least send Linda and Teresa to etiquette school, and flush the other two bitches."

"Well, your CD should be almost ready," Karen said. "I just have two more songs in the middle of downloading. I had a little trouble with Celine Dion, the successful downloads kept making this horrible screeching noise that overtook most of the song. Your boss would give the thumbs down on that. Just have the speaker say her name either first or second out of three. Instead, I've downloaded some Shania Twain, now she was good in pop. Mention her in your commercial."

"Oh, and about that, Rhonda and Nicole have agreed to do it on Friday. I can't wait to tell Mr. Sussex."

"That's great." Then a pause as Karen was distracted. "Listen, I have to go. Bart wants me to help put the groceries away. See you later."

Valerie went back to her script, and made the adjustments Karen suggested, then shut down her laptop. She went to her main computer to check her e-mail. Same old junk mail, and no special messages from Mace, Sundown, Bowzer or Highway. "They must be still on shift," she said to herself. "Let me take a wild guess – Big Boss or a gang of drug dealers luring kids into the business. Thank God Jeremy is with Barricade. And I wonder what Blackbelt's doing now. He must be teaching the boys' martial arts class."

At twenty minutes to eight, the phone rang. She rushed to the kitchen and checked the ID. It said _K. Raines_. She picked up and saw Cindy on the screen. "Cindy! I was just thinking about you and your family."

"Yeah, well, I can't believe that damn sudden meeting we had this afternoon," Cindy said. "It was all about you, and the gossip and rumors that were spread about you. I can't believe I had to sit there and listen to Sussex lecture the whole staff. All this stuff about how it's hurtful and wrong to gossip about your co-workers, and that you deserve more respect than you're getting, and on and on and on. I mean, the least he could've done was have you sit up front with him. Elise was pissed about it, too."

"Aw, dammit!" Valerie moaned. "You two girls didn't deserve that at all. You never did anything, you're my friends. And neither did Matt, for all the hard work he's done with me." She sighed. "God knows if I had been there, I would've sat there feeling sorry for you. I told him he should've composed a memo warning any offenders."

"Thanks, Val," Cindy replied. "So anyway, Kim phoned me last night to tell what she heard from Linda about you. I told her, 'Listen, bitch! Barricade is one of my husband's colleagues, and Valerie is one of my very good friends, and I'll be fucked if you keep spreading this around.'"

"Yeah, and what'd she say? _'Why are you covering up for that god-awful whore of a mother?'_ Or something along those lines?"

"I didn't give her a chance. I hung up before she could say anything else. You think this is something I'd pass on to someone else?"

"Did you protest at the meeting?"

"Damn straight! I stood up and told Linda what I told Kim. I asked whom else she told before she started calling everybody. Her husband, and all their other friends know. Then I asked her if there was anything she didn't like about Barricade. She said that she didn't know what a man like him could see in you, _given the way you parent Jeremy!_ Oh, I wanted to jump across the tables and slap the shit out of her. Sussex overheard, and starting getting into the disciplinarian parents among the staff to leave Jeremy alone. I couldn't agree with him more! In a way, I hope they do start gossiping about you, so he _does_ fire them!"

"Well, I talked to Karen about this. She says she would've fired them immediately." Then Valerie decided to talk about her new assignment. "Speaking of Karen, I'm expecting a CD of songs to help with my new assignment." She told about her idea, and her special casting.

"Ah, so you're going for the nepotism thing again?" Cindy said. "Well, I think the casting is fitting, considering the 'mother-daughter' theme." She laughed a little.

Suddenly, Valerie heard the doorbell. "Oh, I think that may be her," she said. "She said eight, but she was nearly done when I spoke to her. I think she's early. Listen, if I don't talk to you later, I'll see you at work tomorrow. Bye-bye." She hung up and went to the door.

She saw Karen with a CD entitled "Commercial Selections" and accepted it as Karen came inside. "Thanks, sis!" she said. "I'll put this into my briefcase."

"Not before we listen to it," Karen insisted. "I just finished this and we need to see if every song is perfect." She turned on the CD player.

"Most music played in radio commercials are just five-second samplings of the song's chorus," Valerie said. "Once Mr. Sussex gets a listen, we'll take it to a tech expert to reduce to a sampling." Karen nodded and shushed her as the first song started playing. A slow-paced guitar solo.

They listened to the opening lyrics, a female singer singing about a man hearing what he wants to hear. Valerie looked at the printed song list. It was the new Purple Rainbow song that she remembered listening to twice at work. She wondered how Nicole would react to this. Did she even like this band, she wondered.

Halfway through the second song, by Vaneque, the phone rang. Karen paused the player as Valerie went to answer the phone. The ID read _G. Brainerd_. "Oh, good, it's from Washington," she said to herself. "But why would Cousin Graham be calling?" She picked up and was surprised to see Barricade on the screen.

"Barricade, hi!" she grinned. "When did you get in?"

"Around quarter to noon," Barricade answered. "We checked into the Sheraton when we arrived. I'm just having drinks with your cousin Graham and his wife. We already had dinner. I tried to call you twice before, but the line was busy. Is your call waiting not working, or don't you have it?"

"I don't think I've experienced any call waiting on this phone, so I don't think I have it," Valerie replied. "I feel like I've been on this phone all evening, first Rhonda, then Karen, then Cindy. Karen's over here right now, listening to a CD of music that I'm featuring in a radio commercial, which I cast Rhonda and Nicole in." This prompted her tell about the project. She decided against telling about the Escapade commercial; she'd call him tomorrow about it. And Linda's reaction to their time together; she didn't want his good times to be spoiled by any hurtful malice. She perceived he'd be too embarrassed to ask about it, anyway.

"That's wonderful, honey," Barricade said. "I'm glad you're having a better day."

"So, I have to know, how did Jeremy behave on the plane?"

"He was all right. He was wearing some headphones, and moving his head from side to side, so I assumed he was just listening to some music. Nothing that would attract any unwanted attention." Then they overheard some muffled talk, and Barricade said, "Your cousin Graham wants to talk to you."

"All right," Valerie accepted. "So take care of yourselves, and think of me often, but don't worry about me too much. I've got lots to keep myself busy with while you're gone."

"I'll call you every night, sweetheart," he promised. "I love you. And here's Graham." Barricade left, then Graham soon appeared.

"Hey, cousin!" he said.

"Hi, Graham," Valerie said. "Just a moment, please. Karen's here as well." But Karen arrived at the phone just before she could call for her.

"So, what's new with you?" she asked.

"You're first, lady!" Graham grinned. "First, I hear that your little lovebirds ganged up and actually killed Tom. Valerie, I cannot tell how damn happy I am to hear that. Now this family is finally at peace."

"Yeah, well, I never told anyone about it, but I assume that Rhonda and Karen heard on the news. I was actually interviewed in the 'news at noon' broadcast when that broke out." She put Graham on hold, then revealed that news to Karen.

"I heard it on the six o'clock news," Karen said, "and saw you in the process. You didn't tell Ms. Morgan enough."

"It was a live five-minute segment, and the C.O.P.S. had their sides to add." Valerie returned to Graham. "Sorry about that. Anyway, so Barricade had taken Jeremy to the Empire City Zoo when that happened…"

"He told me about all that," Graham said. "But he never told me anything about what happened afterwards. He invited you over to his place where he cooked a roast, I know, he gave us the recipe."

She rolled her eyes. "It was practically a quiet evening, a game of Risk, a nice romantic walk – until he caught me off guard when he asked me and Jeremy to live with him. I'm just thinking about it right now."

Graham laughed. "What's there to think about, Valerie? He's such a wonderful houseguest, and he was telling us all about his plans for the future – all without us asking about it. I say dump the rest of the competition, and choose Barricade. You know as well as I do that he's the one."

"Uh… I don't know yet." _Okay, now he's_ really _moving too fast,_ she thought. She saw Graham's look, obviously pressing for more information, so she told about Linda barging in on them, and rehashed her current day.


	22. Crooks Stalking A Date

**Author's Note:** Okay, I'm so excited. On this day one year ago, the very first chapter of this story was published after a final rewrite. Yay!

Also, if you're looking for Valerie's interview with Whitney Morgan in the future, it will have to be held over for at least two chapters. Originally, Valerie was going to be going on dates with Mace, and a "threesome" date with Sundown and Highway all this chapter. But as I was starting the "date with Mace" scenes this chapter, a part of me told me to go back and emphasize on this, planning preparation, and all. (See what I mean about written outlines? You easily change your mind like this during composition time.) Anyway, the date scenes got a bit long here, so the Sundown-Highway-Valerie thing will be reserved for next chapter. So you'll have a long wait before you find out if those two C.O.P.S. get spared an investigation, once Valerie bares her soul to the media about Tom.

Oh, and about the club scene. First, all songs mentioned (Econoline Crush, Chemical Brothers, Cathy Dennis et al) were not written or performed by me; I'm just using them as part of the scene. No lawsuits please. And the mention of _Class of the Titans_ is in reference to this awesome new offering on Teletoon Canada on Wednesday and weekend nights. I was just imagining them one of those squeaky clean pop acts (Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, etc, in their heyday) if this were really true, they'd be one of those acts responsible for bubblegum pop (eventually) coming back into fashion on the music scene.

Anyway, that's all I have to tell you. Read and review.

* * *

Chapter 22

The next day, at the start of her lunch hour, Valerie e-mailed her revised radio script to Rhonda. Shortly afterwards, her phone rang. She was surprised to see Mace on the video when she answered.

"Mace!" she said. "Don't you have police work to do, or are you on lunch break as well?"

"I've just come back from my assignment," he replied. "Suspect barricaded himself in a motel room. Had the whole SWAT team helpin' me out. We finally got him into police custody, and I've just submitted my report. You?"

"I've just sent copies of my radio commercial script to some voice actors I've selected," she replied. "It's a light rock station playing only slow stuff and easy listening, JEWEL-FM. You wouldn't be interested."

"Ugh!" he replied. "I don't listen to that crap. If yer gonna do a commercial fer a radio station, inquire a hard rock or heavy metal one. Now that's the stuff that gets me goin'. BEAST 96.4 FM, now that's a good station here in Empire City."

"Well, Jewel just came by and asked me to do this, that's all." But Valerie could tell the reason why Mace called. "I suppose you've called just to ask me for a date, right?"

"I've got a shift tomorrow until five in the afternoon," Mace told her. "So after, I'll take ya to my place, cook up a nice steak dinner wit some corn, then we'll see a movie – I'll surprise ya – then there's this nightclub, Electric Bullet. It plays rock, techno and pop, anything that's fast. We'll go dancin'."

"Sounds great!" she said. "I was inwardly hoping we'd go dancing."

"Awright, so how 'bout I pick you up from yer work tomorrow?"

"I'd love that. Oh, but you're so sweet to me. I can't wait. See you tomorrow, sweetheart." She kissed her screen and hung up.

Valerie was just about out of her office when the phone rang again. She picked it up, and was horrified to see Big Boss. "Jesus Christ!" she cried. "How the hell did you get my number – and my extension?"

"Now, Valerie, is that any way to greet a potential suitor?" Big Boss replied. "Yer secretary actually paged me through."

"Okay, if I see Teresa in the lunch room, I'm going to kick the crap out of her?" she said. "What do you want?"

"I was callin' to see if youse was free Friday night, see?" Big Boss replied. "Dinner at Vivaldi Florentine, then an evenin' of enchanted entertainment at the White Apple Palace. They're doin' piano classics from the 1940's, see?"

"Look, I understand that you're pretty rich and all," she said, "but Vivaldi Florentine is much too expensive for my taste, and while I'd love to go to the White Apple Palace, I'd rather go with anyone but you. Or your cronies. And don't tell Nightshade, but I'm going to be seeing Mace that night."

Big Boss started screaming. "Auuuuuugh! Blast you, Valerie! When will ya quit acceptin' date offers from those damn C.O.P.S.?"

"Hey, it's not my fault you have shitty timing skills! And I guess it'd be a bad time to say that Mace is picking me up from work."

"Hmmm," Big Boss said. "That gives me an idea." He suddenly hung up.

Valerie wanted to feel sick. Her instincts immediately told her that Big Boss wanted to spy on her and her date. But she tried to kill these thoughts. She thought of her date, and recording her commercial tomorrow. "Just relax, Valerie," she told herself. "Tomorrow will be the best day of your life."

* * *

The next morning, Valerie was in the recording studio with Rhonda and Nicole, recording the "dialogue" part of the commercial. They had been there all morning, doing more than forty takes. Rhonda kept making mistakes; either her tone was too forceful at her more demanding-sounding lines, or she kept missing cues. Nicole was more dramatic and witty-sounding, though they also tried different tones with her, and Valerie was impressed. She joked to the audio producer in between takes, "So, you think Nicole could be the only one in my family with a future in performing arts?" 

"Perhaps," the producer replied, "if she were a little more patient with her castmates."

"She hasn't complained," Valerie said.

"Yeah, but I can sense the vibes," he said. "She wants to kill her mother for constantly screwing up."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "My fault, I distinctly told Rhonda that no acting experience was required."

"Don't worry, Valerie," Rhonda assured. "My acting skills are just as dusty as yours. I haven't done drama since starring in the school play nearly thirty years ago."

"There's nothing to it, really," Valerie said. "Just be firm, but speak at a normal rate. Don't sound too angry, and don't overdramatize."

"Right, I'll try not to." She felt calmer reading her lines over again.

Finally, they were ready. When the recording light turned on, Nicole started up by whining her line, "Aw, Mom, not more of your cheesy 80's stuff."

"Well, I'm getting sick and tired of your rock and roll," Rhonda replied as Valerie instructed.

"I know!" Nicole declared. "Let's listen to JEWEL-FM."

"JEWEL-FM?"

"Yeah, it plays a whole variety of our favorite stuff." Then, Nicole began listing of Rhonda's favorite artists according to the script, and stayed silent for ten seconds before mentioning her favorites. During this ten-second interval, Nicole looked like she was wincing. She suddenly remembered Nicole e-mailing her, saying she hated Purple Rainbow and Davina Dallas.

Afterwards, Valerie pointed at Rhonda, and she said her line, "Well, I guess it's not that bad, now is it?"

Nicole grinned as she said her line, "So, Mom, you think I should crank it up when we get to my music?"

"I beg your pardon?" Rhonda tried to sound peeved without being overly disapproving.

"Kidding, Mom." Nicole decided to add a giggle.

Valerie smiled as the audio was paused. "That was perfect," she said. "Paul Quinette and Melissa Shores are definitely going to go for your performances."

"Now, Ms. Boston," the producer said, "what I'm going to do is I'll keep the CD of songs you made, and see if I can reduce your scripted selections to ten-second intervals of the choruses. It'll take an hour, tops. Oh, and while I think of it, we need to tie on this slogan of yours at the end. Why don't you record it?" Valerie nodded, and joined her sister and niece in recording area.

When she was ready, she leaned towards the microphone and said softly and simply, "JEWEL 104.9 FM. It's music everyone can agree on."

Soon after, Valerie, Rhonda and Nicole all shook the producer's hand, and he said. "I'll call you when the final product is ready, say around three?"

"Sure thing," Valerie replied. She wrote down her extension number, as well as her cell phone number. "I should be in my office when you call. I'll be waiting for the commercial."

Outside, Rhonda asked, "So tell me the truth, sis – do you really think I should consider acting lessons, because I was thinking of a career change lately. I really do need it. Selling houses has been giving me a headache."

"Given how much time we took," Valerie said, "I don't think you'd last a day even in beginner's college. You'd better stick to your real work."

* * *

Late that afternoon, Valerie was waiting in the front of the building, waiting for Mace to pick her up. She retrieved the finished CD of her radio commercial from her briefcase. Should she have Mace listen to it in her car? Probably not, she decided. She remembered how disgusted he was when she first mentioned it. Mace doesn't even look like the kind of man who listened to easy listening and pop-like rock music, she realized. She saw his car stopping outside the front doors. 

She rushed to the passenger door, and noticed a black limousine in the parking lot, back seat window rolled down. Probably another client waiting to take Mr. Lancer and Mr. Sussex out for a dinner meeting, she guessed. And she wondered why the window was rolled down, was the air conditioner not working? But she didn't have time to think of any of it. She got into Mace's car.

"Hi, Mace," she said, then kissed him quickly. "I'm ready to unwind."

He started to drive off. "Another productive day at work?" he asked.

"Productive, yet easy. How about you?"

"You've gotta be kiddin' me. It was another damn circus wit Big Boss today. Oh, of all the days fer Barricade to not be here! This time, his henchmen were raidin' diners an' restaurants, an' pawn shops, an' anywhere else they'd find teenagers an' young adults workin' part time. We got calls from all those places beggin' fer assistance."

"Don't tell me," Valerie said. "They were going to take them right out of the places! Oh, if Sarah, Drew or Sheldon were working, I hope they were the ones who called you! God, I can't wait until school starts!"

Meanwhile, in the limousine, Big Boss was watching Mace drive off. "There she goes," he muttered to himself. "Oh, but I have to get her away from those damn C.O.P.S." He turned to his driver. "Squeaky, follow that car!"

When they arrived at Mace's apartment, he offered for Valerie to put her briefcase on the dining table. She did, and rested her purse on a chair. She retrieved her CD, and he said, "Is that yer commercial?"

"Yes, and Mr. Sussex was partly impressed," Valerie answered. "I told him yesterday about putting Rhonda and Nicole in it, that I wanted to try the nepotism thing again, and he was surprisingly supportive. Which is a relief, because I was sure he'd let me have it about not putting on real auditions. He told me, 'The nepotism worked last time, I don't see why it shouldn't again.'"

Mace put some steaks and ears of corn on the barbeque he had on his balcony. "Why are you so worried, Valerie?" he asked. "You ain't never had a rejection here so far."

"Yeah, but the Escapade thing barely got accepted," she replied. "Out of the eleven board members at that particular company, only six approved of it. I am still shocked, now that I think about it. Can you believe some of the comments Lancer repeated to me? Those that accepted were impressed by the computer graphics in the real-time background. But those who opposed said there wasn't anything different, that in this day and age of high-tech editing, it wasn't anything they haven't seen before, it wasn't anything new." She joined him on the balcony. "I can't have that with JEWEL-FM. And Mr. Sussex said some harsh things about Rhonda, saying she had no acting talent, that it sounded forced. On the other hand, he said Nicole was a convincing teenager. I'm just worried about what Paul Quinette and Melissa Shores will think." She shuddered and repeated some previous comments. "_Nothing they haven't seen before, nothing new._ Sure, all mothers and daughters have arguments over music, but I haven't heard them in a radio commercial."

He put down the barbeque lid. "Awright, put it in, an' I'll tell ya what I think."

Valerie put the CD into the player, and they sat down on his sofa. After around forty seconds, Mace said, "Ah, yer sister ain't much of a performer, but she does sound like a typical mother. An' yer niece really sounds the part there. She's actually pretty convincin'."

"Well, Nicole's not nearly as rebellious as she sounds," she replied, "but she can be a real drama queen at times."

"Kinda like some of my older nieces," Mace grinned.

He went to the kitchen. "Would ya like fries or potatoes with the steak?"

"When it's steaks and burgers," Valerie said, "I prefer to have fries. Real potatoes do not go well with them."

"Sure, I'll put 'em on later."

A few minutes later, they heard a knock. Mace smiled and said, "Stay right there, beautiful. I'll see who it is." He went to the peephole and received a horrid shock.

"Shit," he whispered! "It's Big Boss!" He locked the deadbolts right away.

Valerie retrieved her CD from the player, then placed her briefcase on the sofa with her. "I'll bet he wants me to leave here with him right now," she suggested.

"Valerie," Big Boss said from the hallway. "Valerie, pookiekins, come on out to see me."

She shuddered as Mace sat down with her. "Pookiekins!" she muttered. "I haven't been called that since I was Jeremy's age." But he shushed her.

"Valerie," Big Boss said again. "Valerie, sweetheart, open the door."

"Damn, but why won't he leave me alone?" she whispered softer. "How many times does he need to be told?"

After a few more moments, Big Boss spoke again. "Valerie, you can't leave me standin' out here all night. I ain't leavin' without ya, see? Now, make things a lil' easier on me, and come outta there."

Mace took her back on her balcony with her briefcase. "Let's just stay out here until these are ready. We can put the French fries in the microwave."

"The question is, when will the Big Boss give up?" Valerie asked. "I really can't go up there and tell him to go away, can I?"

"You'd better not," Mace told her. "He just might break in here."

They stayed outside for another twenty minutes, when the steaks were ready. Valerie crept back into the apartment with the corn, and waited for a response from the hall. She tiptoed into the kitchen to set the corn on the counter, and get a plate and the bag of French fries. When she put her plate in the microwave, she met up with Mace and asked, "Do you suppose Big Boss already left? I'm a little scared to look."

He put the steaks next to the corn, and went to the door to look through the peephole again. He saw the outside empty this time. "Nope, he's gone."

"Thank you, God," she declared. She unhooked the deadbolt, then took her bags off the table. "I do not want him kidnapping me for some forced date. I wouldn't be able to enjoy it."

When her fries were done, her steak selected, her corn buttered, she placed her meal on the small dining table just outside the kitchen. She said, "It's too bad you don't have a table out on the balcony for your lawn chairs. Another nice evening. We could be eating outside."

Mace put his plate of fries into the microwave. He looked outside, and noticed it began to get cloudy. "It ain't like that no more, Valerie, baby. It's buildin' up pretty quick."

He'd picked up the newspaper and read the weather report to her. "Yep, they're callin' fer rain this evenin'," he replied. "The movies will be no problem, but we might wanna pack an umbrella, just in case the line fer Electric Bullet is long. Luckily, I have one in the front hall closet."

She took the paper and studied the weather map. "It's also raining in Washington, D.C.," she noticed. "Oh, I'll bet poor Jeremy was stuck inside some hotel room all day."

Mace was pouring red wine into two glasses, and bringing them to the table. "Then again, he an' Barricade were probably havin' fun in some indoor pool." She noticed he still looked peeved about his day.

"Hey, he can't just fly home immediately because the crime wave has been uncontrollable today."

When Mace had his plate prepared, the two sat back down. "I'm sorry if this table don't look romantic," he said. "I don't have no candles, wax or electric. And this table ain't big enough for any centerpieces."

"You really think I care about stuff like that?" she asked. "Only in a nice restaurant, where they have everything laid out for you. Not at home. When you're raising a child – especially one like Jeremy, and by yourself – fancy decorations are the last thing you should be thinking about."

She ate two bites of steak, and said, "Oh, this is delicious. I never knew how skillful you were with the barbeque. But then again, most men are."

"You like the steak?" he asked. "I think I cooked it medium rare – how do you usually take yours?"

"I don't care," she replied. "It doesn't matter if it's medium rare, pink in the middle, whatever. Just don't burn it to a cinder." She took two bites of corn. "And obviously, this turned out well. It tastes as beautiful as it looks."

"Thanks," he replied. "See, this is what I love 'bout ya, Valerie, your lack of materialism. You don't go crazy over expensive things all the time, you've got no demands over food preparations, and you don't complain if things don't look fancy fer special occasions." He reached across to take her hand. "I love how yer so down to earth."

"Well, I just like a man who can cook so the food at least tastes edible," she said. "Especially in areas where I'm at a total loss, like the barbeque. I can turn things, no problem, but I'm lousy with timing. If only that thing came with such instructions on certain things, I'd be all set."

She thought back to when she still lived with Tom. Every barbeque season, they'd have horrible arguments because Valerie would leave hamburgers and steaks burning on it for twenty minutes. She just didn't know the intervals in which to turn them. And she was very forgetful when it came to things like that. She remembered Tom would try to teach her, then yell at her when she forgot to turn meat at a certain time. This was why she never used the barbeque in her backyard at all this summer.

"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout?" Mace asked.

"Oh, nothing," she answered. "Just how miserably Tom would treat me when it came to the barbeque." She thought she was getting emotional, so she quickly ate more steak and fries.

They spent the rest of the meal just talking intimately. Mace had noticed her purple vest and white long-sleeve blouse, and blue skirt, all silk and said, "So, what made you decide to wear that to work? I've never seen you look so chic. You gotta have a million different outfits in yer closet if you keep lookin' that beautiful. So sorry if I didn't say nothin' before, but then again, I shouldn't have to say how beautiful you are every time I see you. You always are."

She became ecstatic. "Oh, Mace," she whispered. "I'm always beautiful. That's the first time anyone's ever said that to me."

"Tom never said that to you?" he asked. Valerie shook her head.

He got up and walked slowly to her. "Well, I guess that's just the kind of asshole he was." He caressed his hands on her neck. "But you just be glad that part of you is gone now. You're with a real man tonight, and don't you ever forget that." He kissed her lips softly, slowly, then commented, "Your lips taste like strawberries. Is that scented lipstick?"

"I don't think there's any such thing," she laughed. He kissed her a few more times, then she looked over at his half-finished plate. "Uh, maybe you should go back and finish your serving before it starts to get cold. Maybe, if possible, you can request a slow dancing song at the club, and we can kiss as we sway."

He laughed at her and replied, "You've never been to a nightclub in ages, have you? They don't play slow music at a rock and techno club."

They didn't say much more as they had their second servings, just glanced at each other intimately. At one point, they reached across to the middle of the table to hold each other's hands. "So, do you know what movie you're taking me to?" she asked. "Have you searched through the papers? Called the theater? It just got into my mind, and I'm just dying to know."

"I told ya, babe," he said, "I'm gonna surprise ya."

"You know, I know guys like you go for action flicks," she said, flirting, "with guns and car chases, and lots of fighting and tough-guy talk. But you think maybe you can break from that for me, and go see a nice romance. I'd really love that."

After dinner and doing the dishes, Mace checked the entertainment section of the newspaper. He simply said, "I think maybe we should leave for the 7:45 show," but still wouldn't tell Valerie what they were going to see. Yet, he excused himself to change clothes. Valerie immediately began to touch his body. She said, "You sure I can't come and watch?"

He nudged her away. "Then you'll be all over me like jewels on velvet."

She watched him disappear into his bedroom, then looked back at the newspaper. She wondered if she should peek through it, to settle her curiosity. She decided not to, for even if she did, she'd see so many movies in the "show times" promoting matinees at different theaters to be shown at 7:45. She went to the living room and turned on the TV. She saw the time displayed on the screen. 6:20 P.M. He probably was going to put on something classy for the show and club, and decide how much money he needed for both. Maybe a little extra for an in-between snack somewhere. Most dance clubs don't start up until around ten-thirty.

Soon, Mace came out, dressed in a white Ralph Lauren polo, and the same black jeans he wore the time Nightshade snuck into her house. To pass some time, Mace turned off the TV and put in a CD of slow dancing rock songs. "Only fer you, my sweet," he said. He joined her on the sofa, and they began making love, all the while keeping track of the clock

Almost an hour later, the CD stopped, and Mace checked the clock on the VCR. It was the perfect time to leave, he decided. "Ready to hit the town?" he grinned. Valerie smiled and picked up her briefcase by the sofa. He said, "Yeah, better take yer briefcase. We can lock it away in the trunk 'til I can take ya home."

Outside the apartment, they saw the same black limousine Valerie saw in her work parking lot, parked across the street, the back window rolled down partway. Valerie immediately felt scared, and ran all the way to Mace's car.

"Christ!" she cried. "Has that driver of his been parked there all this time? Is that even legal? What in hell did he tell police to get out of a ticket?"

"Big Boss probably went back to his headquarters to plot some more, then broke all the other crooks out of prison," Mace guessed. "Who knows? My apartment don't face this street. I'm guessin' that's been there for ten, fifteen minutes now. Why would he sit an' wait fer two whole hours?"

"Jesus, it seems like he's been there forever," she said. She jumped into the passenger seat.

Meanwhile, with the limousine revved up, Big Boss was watching Mace and Valerie drive out. "There they go again, Squeaky," he said. "Follow 'em again." Wordlessly, Squeaky Kleen backed into the entrance way of the building they stayed in front of, and drove out.

Nightshade was sitting with Big Boss this time, looking more perplexed and vengeful than ever. "Oh, I can't wait to get my hands on them both," she said. "He's not escaping from me this time."

The traffic was moderate as Big Boss followed Mace and Valerie to the movie theater. He said, "Squeaky, see if you can move into the next lane. I wanna catch up to ol' Mace there, see?" Squeaky obeyed, and yet when a car moved up a little, there was plenty of room for the limousine to fit.

Big Boss and Nightshade peeked through the open window, looking for Mace and Valerie together. It wasn't long before they were passing a blue Sedan that carried a familiar blonde woman in the front passenger seat. But they couldn't tell who was driving, her head and hair were obscuring him. Big Boss rolled the window all the way down, then waited for her to turn their way.

Meanwhile, Valerie was busy fixing her makeup and brushing her hair. She looked up and noticed the front of the limousine in the windshield. She turned to her window, and screamed when she saw the two crooks looking back at her.

"Christ, Mace, look!" she screamed. "It's him again! And how in the hell did Nightshade get out of jail after what happened last time? I don't think she's going to give up on you, will she?"

"Not unless I tell her to lose my address and number," he replied. In his rear-view mirror, he noticed a large space in the lane to his left. He activated his turn signal, moved into the lane and sped up a little. Valerie smiled at the cars passing by them now, blocking the two crooks.

"Don't worry, baby, we're almost there," Mace said.

In the limousine, Nightshade was screaming, stomping her feet on the mat. "Damn that Mace! Fucking shit, fucking shit, fucking SHIT! This is fucking madness! Oh, but I could just–"

"Now, Nightshade, there ain't no need to git all hot an' bothered now," Big Boss told her. "Squeaky, keep your eyes on the blue car that just pulled out, and don't let it outta yer sight fer a moment. Wherever that car's goin', that' where we're goin', too."

Mace and Valerie pulled into the Imperial Center, Empire City's biggest shopping mall, and parked close to the entrance of the accompanying Golden Gate movie theater. One of a small handful of parking spaces left. Valerie looked around as Mace locked the car. She noted, "I guess they're all shopping for last minute school supplies."

He took her hand and led her to the doors. Just before they went inside, they saw the limousine pull into the lot. He looked out at all the parking and chuckled. "Don't worry, sweetheart," he assured her. "Big Boss will be circlin' fer hours to find a big enough parkin' space."

Inside the lobby, Valerie looked around at all the movie posters, all the movies scheduled to be released in the fall, and Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. She was enthralled by the poster promoting the movie _Beautiful Life_, due to come out in November. A group of human fairies guiding two dreaming sisters around the world, it looked like. _Jeremy would love that_, she decided. She tapped Mace's shoulder, pointed at it and said, "Look, I'm sure that one of you guys would love to take Jeremy to that."

"Depends on if you choose one by then," he replied, trying not to hint He brought her to the ticket counter and said, "Two for _Little Police Brat_, please?" He paid for them, then the ticket taker pointed in the direction of theater number eight, and they went for some popcorn and drinks.

Valerie was a little amazed. "Wow," she said. "Something we can both agree on, right? Wow, combined with this and _Hearts of Blue_, I can tell this was the summer of cops who care. So, tell me about this movie. Is it something of an action-comedy?"

"Yeah," Mace answered. "Think of an orphan who gets passed around a group of officer brothers who shoot down his murderous widowed dad. He's still grievin', an' takes his feelins out on the good guys. Don't think we should take Jeremy to see this."

Valerie laughed. "I don't think he'd get any ideas. He'd probably thank the officers who killed _his_ father."

Just minutes before the movie started, Big Boss and Nightshade ran inside, to the counter. Nightshade said, "Excuse me, but did you see a man with light brown hair and brown eyes, around six-foot-three, thirty-four-inch chest, fifteen-inch biceps, around early-to-mid forties, speaks in a deep gravely voice? He's here with a busty blonde bimbo, says she's a few years younger than he is, but looks about ten years younger?"

Big Boss tried to emphasize. "They probably didn't give their names," he said, "but they are Mace Howards and Valerie Boston. Nightshade's descriptions of Mace are accurate, see, but Valerie has blonde hair halfway down her back, about a thirty-five-inch chest an' a size three, probably. Usually dresses in business chic."

The ticket taker tried to think. "I did see a couple that matched your descriptions; they went to see _Little Police Brat_ in number eight, about ten minutes ago," she said. "But you need to get tickets at the door there. I can't admit you without them." Nightshade memorized the title, then went back to punch in the selection. She presented the tickets as Big Boss paid for them.

"Just in time," the ticket taker said. "The movie starts in only a few minutes."

Inside the theater, Mace and Valerie were holding hands and making out to the slow music playing in the background. They were among few people sitting in the back rows, and were unaware of Big Boss and Nightshade's presence. It wasn't until the music stopped and the previews started on the big screen, that they noticed the crooks, as they took seats directly behind them.

"No!" Valerie whispered harshly. "So much for being alone. Let's see if we can find a seat in the front."

"Not so fast, Valerie," Big Boss objected. "First, yer gonna tell me why ya keep throwin' me an' my men over."

"And _you're _going to tell me why you keep throwing me over for your little bitch, Mace!" Nightshade added.

A few seats away, some movie patrons began to shush them.

"Do you mind?" Valerie whispered at them. "We're going to be watching a movie here. You have the wrong time and place, so I suggest you save it until after."

"Uh, no, sweetheart," Big Boss said. I think we should discuss this now." He was shushed again.

"Fuck you, fat ass!" Valerie hissed. "This can damn well wait two hours, and if you don't stop bothering us…"

"I ain't gonna quit buggin' ya 'til ya give me some answers, Valerie," Big Boss insisted.

"And neither will I, Mace!" Nightshade added.

Some patrons sitting far in Mace and Valerie's row came over to them. They glared at Big Boss and Nightshade. One of them said, "Listen, some of us are trying to watch a movie. If you two don't stop talking…"

"Beat it, buster!" Big Boss snapped loudly. Now, the patrons in the front rows were shushing, too.

Valerie turned to the patrons and suggested, "Maybe you should get the manager. I want these two gone." She pointed at Big Boss and Nightshade. "They've been harassing us ever since we got to my date's place for dinner. Well, the fat one has, anyway."

Another standing patron had a better idea. "Maybe you should sit down in the front rows, where they won't bother you anymore." Mace and Valerie nodded, and moved to the front. They looked at the crowd, saw areas with two adjoined seats vacant, and decided to sit there, to "blend in with the crowd." Once they were settled, they mentally decided to just hold hands and watch the movie. Why bother making out in front of strangers?

Meanwhile, Big Boss and Nightshade were watching the movie. They became furious at the dating couple's new location, they'd noticed only one vacant seat in the row behind them. They pouted, slouching a bit in their seats, forcing themselves to concentrate on the movie. Big Boss didn't particularly enjoy this one, with the police theme. However, he did laugh at a scene where the young orphan boy was talking fresh in a police officer's house. He laughed at the boy's quote: _"My dad said your wife tried to rip him off for a bunch of western novels. Who the hell pays fifty dollars for a dozen? Anyway, he said he'd agree to pay twenty if she took him up on his offer, if you know what I mean. I still can't believe she took it. And she still made him pay fifty. Dad said she was a total bitch!"_

When he stopped laughing he leaned towards Nightshade and whispered, "That kid's a hoot. He's how old, eight?"

Fifteen minutes later, they saw a girl sitting behind Mace and Valerie get up to leave. There was one empty seat beside her, they noticed. The crooks decided to move down. In that row, Big Boss was squashing other patrons, stepping on the feet, not even bothering to say, "Excuse me." Mace and Valerie immediately noticed when one teenager screamed after his foot was stepped on. But they forced themselves to keep concentrating as Big Boss and Nightshade sat in the vacant seats.

"Excuse me," whispered the boy now sitting next to Nightshade. "You're in my girlfriend's seat. She only went to get a drink and popcorn."

"Bite me!" Nightshade snapped back. She was glaring at the back of Mace's head.

"Mace!" she said aloud. "I want to know why you won't take me back!" Several people around her shushed at her, but she kept on talking.

"You think I'm going to go away, but I'm not. Talk to me, dammit!"

"Will you be quiet?" the boy whispered harshly. "I'm trying to watch a movie!"

"Piss off!" Nightshade spat.

Soon, the girlfriend came back with her wares, and was not happy to see Nightshade. "Excuse me," she whispered, "but I was sitting there. Will you and your little friend go back to where you came from?"

Nightshade pointed at Mace. "Not until I get some answers from my estranged lover sitting there!" she answered aloud. Everyone except Mace and Valerie shushed her again.

"An' then, I'm gonna get some answers on why this one won't talk to me, see?" Big Boss added, pointing at Valerie. But he was shushed, too.

The girl gave the drink and popcorn to her boyfriend, while she left again. Minutes later, she came back with an usher, and they went back to Nightshade and Big Boss. The usher told them, "Excuse me, but you're going to have to go to the top rows. We've got a complaint that you're bothering patrons with loud talking."

Valerie could hear this, and she stood up and pointed at Big Boss. "Excuse me, sir," she said, "but that man has been harassing me since I've been to my date's apartment." She had Mace stand up with her. "And that man and his accomplice there followed us here, and has been bothering mostly us since the movie started."

The usher stared at Mace and Valerie, then turned back to the crooks. "I'm sorry, but if you're just here to harass this couple, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Go fuck a cow!" Big Boss imploded. The usher tried to take his arm, but soon realized he was too heavy to drag. Big Boss responded by shoving the usher back past a few seats, so that he tripped over a patron's feet. Wordlessly, Big Boss picked him up by his clothes and said, "Now youse listen here. I ain't leavin' here until I speak to Valerie Boston 'bout why she won't go out wit me, see?" He threw him down, went back to Valerie, and the usher immediately reported both crooks to security.

In thirty seconds, the guards came into the theater and, escorted by Mace, managed to find and take hold of both Big Boss and Nightshade. Amidst their yelling, they were forcefully escorted out, and the patrons went into a loud applause. Mace and Valerie sat back down in their new seats just as the usher went in front of them to announce, "Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Golden Gate, I'd like to apologize for tonight's disruption. The instigators are being photographed and interrogated for permanent banning right now. If you find it difficult to enjoy this film as a result of this showing's melee, inform us at the front desk, and we will have them pay any refunds. Thank you." Then he left.

It was quiet for the rest of the movie, but Mace and Valerie – as well as those around them – couldn't really enjoy it. Big Boss would be paying for refunds indeed.

* * *

Two hours and ten minutes later, the couple was standing on the top steps to the entrance of Electric Bullet. Valerie was swaying her body to the dance music that could be heard from inside. Mace was staring at her. 

"What?" she said. "This music takes me back to when I was still in college and going to parties on Saturday night. You should've seen me then, you could _not_ get me off a dance floor. Even in my mid-twenties, I was still energetic enough to still party when I wasn't working. I intend to prove that I haven't lost it fifteen years later."

She noticed that he was looking back in the crowd every once in a while, to see if their stalkers were somewhere in the line. They weren't, even when they were third in line from the entrance. So she said, "Would you relax, Mace? Big Boss and Nightshade wouldn't dare look for us here. As far as they know, we're back at your place, making love with a CD of rock ballads playing. It'd take them all night to search every spot in the city, and I don't think Big Boss can stand for all the music." She prepared her driver's license and registration to show at the door.

When they were inside, Mace told a worker, "I'll be the designated driver." Then to Valerie, "A gentlemen drives a lady home. A woman like you deserves to be all loosened up."

She laughed and replied, "I don't plan on getting totally drunk. But thanks for being so nice."

They went to a vacant table near the bar, Valerie staring at a blue cloth surrounding the dance floor. Mace was looking at sports news program on a nearby TV, showing highlights from a pre-season football game. Valerie looked up at the screen to see if there was a time being shown. No time, just scores from the day's games. She noticed a clock above the bar reading quarter to eleven. She guessed the dance floor will be open in fifteen minutes. In the meantime, she was bopping her head around to an old Aerosmith song. It was "dance fever."

Soon, Mace asked, "I'm bringin' back somethin' to drink. Maybe a straight Pepsi. You want anythin'?"

She thought quickly and answered, "A rum and Coke would be nice." He nodded, went to the bar, and came back in just under three minutes.

She sipped her drink slowly, moderate sips in between forty-second intervals. She started to dance in her seat to some techno-pop music playing. She stared at the blue cloth again, wondering how much longer before some staff member takes it down. It was very thin, so she could see the empty dance floor and lights flashing. She wanted to lift it up, run through it, start the party up herself. She looked at the clock again. Five minutes to eleven. She took a bigger sip from her drink, seeing if she could loosen up. She was starting to feel tense and restless from sitting around. She always felt restless if she was sitting around when tempted to dance.

She decided to walk around to see what else was there. Hopefully, there would be a pinball machine to keep her busy. She saw a television playing a music video, a band of college-aged singers performing a dance routine with extras in a flashy nightclub. She shook her head, suddenly wishing she were still in college. Back then, she would play music and fantasize videos for the songs. She hadn't watched music videos since she married Tom.

How was she going to occupy herself for the next few minutes, she wondered. She noticed two men, probably in their thirties, playing a game of pool. But she was turned off; she knew how to play, but could never shoot with a cue properly. She wondered if any of the C.O.P.S. could teach her how. Maybe she could ask Mace when they took a break from dancing.

She went back to Mace, and just chatted while she drank some more. A few minutes later, they saw workers taking the cloth down, and club patrons coming onto the dance floor. All heard the deejay announcing song requests, and saying, "It's about time we heated things for all the younglings here this wild Friday night. Now I'm sure you all remember this from ten years ago, they were responsible for bringing back the squeaky-clean dance pop that dominated the late 1990's. Here's the Class of the Titans with their first hit, _God of the World._"

Valerie remembered this band from when her cousin Laura visited over a decade ago (when they were still speaking.) Her daughter, Lisanne, had her listen to this song when she was talking with her about new music. As well, this was Sarah's favorite group when she was younger. Valerie was dancing in her chair as she finished her drink, then turned to Mace and said, "I'm going to go dance. Want to come?"

"Nah," he replied. "Teen idol pop artists don't do it fer me. Never have."

"Suit yourself." She rushed out to the floor and danced with a group of younger adults, around mid-twenties.

The deejay played another big hit song by Class of the Titans, and Mace was looking at the people still dancing, including Valerie. He wondered how they could still be popular. As he went for another drink, he said to the bartender, "Lookit all them people out there dancin' to that old music. I'll bet they were all fans in the band's heyday. You'd think they've outgrown that stuff already."

"Yeah," the bartender agreed. "That Titan band must've been real big. They broke up several years ago. I mean, do you think anyone cared about the Spice Girls, Backstreet Boys and NSYNC after _they _disbanded?"

After Class of the Titans, Mace heard a steel guitar mixed with an electronic beat from the speakers, and the deejay announce some old Econoline Crush. It sounded like a techno version of _All That You Are_. He drank up his second Pepsi and searched the floor for Valerie. He grinned and said, "Wanna dance?" She took his hand without a word, and went to the center. The next five songs were basically rock, so they kept dancing the whole time. During the third song, Valerie noticed a stage sometimes reserved for rock bands. She saw several patrons climbing on to dance.

"Do you want to dance on stage with them?" she asked.

"I think we should blend in with the crowd, just in case our stalkers show up," he answered.

"Come on," she said, then grinned. "I dare you to get up there and strip for the ladies."

"Valerie! You're shameless!"

"Just kidding. You don't strip for anyone but me."

After the rock dancing, the deejay began to scratch records, and increase the tempo on the beat. Mace picked up Valerie and swung her all over the floor. But it was a techno mix of punk rock and dance pop. Valerie laughed, and when she was back on the floor, she said, "You're crazy! I don't hear any swing jazz."

"Hey," he replied. "Just wanted to liven up the routine."

"Still, that's like doing the Macarena to the B-52's." She began to move her hips in a circular motion, going down to the floor, then leaning back, and groping Mace's upper legs, thighs and ribs as she came back up. He grabbed her hands and replied, "Tryin' to be crazy an' sexy at the same time, are ya? Must be the rum and Coke talkin'."

Towards the end of the deejay's piece, Mace and Valerie's good time turned horrific, for they saw Big Boss and Nightshade entering, along with Turbo Tu-Tone and Rock Crusher. Valerie grabbed her date and moved further along the floor. But Mace wanted to be further away from the steps, insisting, "If any of them see us, they'll damn well snatch us up." They found themselves joining the dance group, only to be bumped out of them. Sometimes, they'd even shift themselves to dance in their places. They went back to the center, and were happy when more of the regular patrons came out onto the floor. Soon, many of the tables were empty and the floor was full. The couple was happy; the crooks would never be able to find them now.

Unfortunately, they never counted on Big Boss' followers to actually look for them there. In the middle of a "currently on the charts" hip-hop track, Mace felt a long nail tap his shoulder. Valerie was fearfully unable to speak when she saw Nightshade. Mace turned to her and just yelped.

"Nightshade!" he cried. "What the hell are you an' Big Boss doin' here! Didn't ya learn yer lesson when you were kicked outta the movies!"

"You didn't think we were giving up that easily, did you?" she replied.

She excused herself, and came back minutes later with her accomplices. "Valerie," she said, "these boys say they'd like to dance with you. Why don't you be with them for a couple of songs while I work with Mace here?" She took his wrist and went to another part of the floor.

Valerie felt uneasy looking at Turbo, Crusher and Big Boss. She tried to look for Mace and Nightshade in the crowd, but Turbo forced her to look at him.

"Youse ain't gonna worry 'bout that damn copper, baby," he said. "Once he's putty in Nightshade's hands again, you'll be all ours."

"Yeah, but what's this bullshit playing?" Big Boss asked. "I'm gettin' outta here 'fore I get a migraine." He took Valerie's arm. "C'mon, sweetheart, I'll buy ya a drink."

They sat at the bar, and Big Boss ordered, "Shaken martini fer me, an' a strawberry wine cooler fer the lady." While the bartender made up the rounds, Big Boss said to her, "Now let's get one thing straight, see? I loved ya ever since I saw ya in that picture Buttons sent to me. I don't know why yer bein' so resistant."

"Please!" she retorted. "Looks aren't everything anymore. See, I'm only nice to people who treat me nicely."

"No problem. I'd treat ya like a queen, baby."

"Right. And remember, I have a special needs child who easily gets scared and hypersensitive. And last I heard, you and your followers scare him so much." She mentioned the incident at the mall seven weeks ago, when Jeremy ran off after seeing Big Boss and Dr. Badvibes on all the televisions. She also added Jeremy comparing Big Boss to a troll living under the bridge.

He laughed so loud, she was sure everyone on the dance floor could hear him over the music. Soon, they received their drinks. Valerie said, "Well, your slicked-back hair and expensive suits _are_ the only things attractive about you. You're so fat, it's scary. I know weight shouldn't be an issue, but I'm afraid to let you sit down anywhere in my house, because I'm afraid you'll break my furniture." She swigged her cooler a bit. "If you tried to have sex with me, you'd crush me to death. I could be hospitalized. Would you be able to take care of Jeremy?"

"Sure I could," Big Boss answered. He tried to smile, but it looked more like a sneer to her. "I'm sure he's a special lil' guy, unlike my idiot nephew, whose brain is a goddamn bag of bricks."

"But taking care of my son does require a great deal of patience. He gets stressed out over any pressure, including if you get harsh with him. I could not take that from my ex-husband or any discipline-happy members of my family." She drank some more cooler. "And if what they're saying about you is true, you're not all that patient."

"Wait!" he said. "You said 'ex-husband.' You talkin' 'bout Jeremy's dad? I saw on the news that two of yer men shot him to death in the Empire City Zoo parking lot. How come you never told me about him? This might sound crazy, but I would've helped them take care of him fer you."

She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable in this conversation, so she took an even bigger drink, almost a guzzle, of her cooler. "You're right, that _is_ crazy," she replied. And, given my utter disinterest in you, it's none of your damn business!"

Suddenly, Turbo emerged from the dance floor to the bar. "Care to dance, sugar?" he grinned.

Valerie stared at him, then at Big Boss. "I suppose so," she replied. "It'd be better than spending all night trying to convince your boss _I don't want him!_" She rolled her eyes, finished her drink, then took Turbo's hand.

When they got there, Turbo said, "Let's find a spot away Mace an' Nightshade. Wouldn't want ya to be tempted by the fruit of another, or to have a catfight."

They found a spot, but Valerie wouldn't start dancing when Turbo did. She knew they were in the middle of a song when she came back to the floor, so she just spent the rest of it staring at Turbo's feet. She saw how big they were, judging by his boots.

"My, what big feet you have!" she called over the music. "Let's just put some distance between us! I wouldn't want you to accidentally step on me!"

Soon, an old "technotronic" track started to play. Valerie was amused, she remembered this from the summer parties she went to while at college, and spring break vacation. Then, the deejay announced, "Here's a song going out by request, it's the Chemical Brothers, with _Let Forever Be_!"

She was dancing at least a foot away from Turbo, just dancing normally, swaying her body as she listened to her high heels tap the floor. She refused to dance sexy for a crook. She tried to concentrate on the song; this was one of her favorites. Unfortunately, at the second verse, Rock Crusher came in between them and grabbed Valerie's arm. She screamed fearfully as he began to swing her around wildly.

"Jesus frigging Christ!" she screamed. "What the fuck are _you_ doing, you big ox?"

Crusher brought her towards him so fast, she could feel her head bump onto his chest. He said, "Aw, I just want you to dance wit me, that's all." He put his arms around her before she could escape, and she felt her air supply being closed off in her chest.

"Crusher, let go!" she begged. "I'm turning purple."

Turbo saw this and went over to them. He pulled Crusher's arms away, then grabbed Valerie below her chest. He yelled at him, "God, Crusher, what the hell's wrong with you. Don't you know you shouldn't squeeze a lady so hard, jerk?" He took Valerie's hand, "C'mon, baby, let's find another place to dance."

She quickly snatched her hand away and gave him a hard, long glare. "First of all," she said, "I have a name. Learn it, use it! Secondly, I came here with Mace. I'm going to go find, and get him away from that bitch, Nightshade!" Suddenly, she spotted Nightshade rushing through the dancing crowd, up the stairs to the deejay. She looked like she was talking in his ear.

"She's probably asking him back to her place to spend the night," Valerie said to herself. "And she says I'm the slut for dating her ex." She started searching the crowd for her date, and saw Mace coming up the steps, back to their table. She ran to sit down with him, and held his hand.

"Are you okay?" she asked. "Did that bitch try to sexually torture you?"

"You have no friggin' idea!" he answered. "I'm an officer of the law, she's a goddamn thief. She just don't get it. I was a fool for thinkin' my love could change her. She was bein' just as devious in the last three months of datin'. God, I think she was just usin me 'cuz I've got a good enough shape."

Suddenly, they felt presences on either side of the table. They looked both ways, and saw Big Boss standing on the side facing the bar, Nightshade on the side facing the dance floor. Both looked like they were glaring and pleading at the same time.

"You don't think I mean it, do you, Mace?" Nightshade said. She sat in the unoccupied chair beside her, and squeezed his hand so tightly. "Mace, darling, I haven't had any desire to return to Big Boss for the whole time we've been dating. You still remember that charity ball robbery? That was the case that brought us together, remember? And after I helped you, you swore that you'd love me for a lifetime, and that it would help reform me."

"Nightshade, piss off!" Valerie spat.

"You shut your mouth!" Nightshade spat back, then returned to Mace. "Darling, what have those damn colleagues of yours been telling you? Whatever it is, I'm sure they're lying."

"You're not fooling anyone, bitch!" Valerie said. "Once a crook, always a crook. That's what my father taught me and my sisters when we were growing up, at least!"

"Valerie!" Big Boss scolded. "Now you know it ain't polite to butt into an important conversation, see? I'm sure Mace can speak fer himself. If yer that restless, why not come talk to me? I'm still lookin' fer you to give me another chance."

Valerie turned quickly and shot at him, "I have nothing to say to you!"

"Look, Nightshade," Mace said, "I'd been hearin' rumors all around my team that you'd been datin' other men just to take their money. What, are ya fuckin' them, too?"

"That's a damn _lie_!" Nightshade shrieked. "You know I've always been committed to you!"

"An' if that weren't enough," he continued, "all the rings and chains you've given me as gifts, I've heard that you've stolen 'em from jewelry stores. They say yer reformin' yer old ways."

"That is shit!" she said. "If – and that's a big 'if' – I've been stealing jewelry, it's only for you. You think I'd go running back to Big Boss on his first call all on my own? Why would you return and refuse it like you did?"

"I had to, after what I heard," Mace replied. "Ya know, Bulletproof may not have said this, but some of my fella C.O.P.S. said that you would never change yer criminal ways, an' I've been believin' it."

"Nightshade, why don't you go dance with Turbo Tu-Tone and Rock Crusher?" Valerie suggested. "I'm sure they'd be more _your _type."

"Go to hell, Valerie!" Nightshade blasted. "You stole my man, and I'm going to get him back, regardless."

"What did he just tell you?" Valerie replied. "It's been over for months. Get over it."

Nightshade went to invite Big Boss to play some pool, while Mace gave Valerie another drink. They searched from Turbo and Crusher in the dancing crowd, and just noticed them getting slapped by a couple of young girls who just "goosed" them.

"Would you look at that?" she laughed. "Obviously, those two are the epitome of pigheadedness. I just hope _that_ teaches them a lesson. However, Turbo will never comment on my breasts again."

She saw Mace watching Big Boss and Nightshade's game. Nightshade had just shot a ball into the pocket and cheered. Valerie turned his face away from the game and said, "Never mind that. I'm sure they're just grumbling privately about us."

The crooks game had just ended, when they all heard the opening bars to a familiar song. Mace looked concerned as he glanced at Nightshade, who looked joyful. Suddenly, he and Valerie heard the deejay announce, "Here's a oldie from the early 90's, going out by request to Mace from Nightshade. This is Cathy Dennis' _All Night Long._" During that, Nightshade came over and said to him, "Our song, remember, baby?" She pulled him from the table, out to the dance floor.

Valerie stood up and went to the landing. She kept focused on Mace and Nightshade while the song played. It was certainly coming back to her. She heard this song playing from upstairs the night she caught Nightshade in her house, seducing Mace. Obviously, this was their favorite sex song; she wondered how indecently the jewel thief would act this time. She moved over so she could see their whole bodies moving, but their bottom halves were largely obscured by crowds of people dancing around them. Suddenly, she saw Turbo rush up to her.

"Babe, whatcha doin' just standin' there?" he asked. "Come dance." He grabbed her, but she insisted on leading.

"We have to find Mace and Nightshade," she said. "I want to know what the hell she's doing with him."

They spotted them at least fifteen feet across from the deejay. Mace was dancing normally, as an obligation to please his ex, Valerie guessed. Nightshade, however, was thrusting her pelvis, swinging her hips in a full circular motion. Valerie was seriously disturbed. She'd been watching her competition for only a minute when she called, "Hey, bitch, don't you dare put your back up to him, if you get my drift! And stop shifting your body around like that. You look like a working stripper!"

"Excuse me!" Nightshade replied, and went up to Valerie. "What did you just say to me?"

"I said you look like a stripper when you thrust your pelvis around and hump the air like that!" she replied. "It looks disgusting, degrading, and you look horny for Mace. I'm surprised you're not getting the attention of every other guy in the club." She looked over at Mace. "How'd you like it, big guy?"

He went over and put his arms around Valerie. "Babe, I missed you. Every moment we were apart here seemed like forever." He glared at his ex-girlfriend. "Nightshade, your dance made me uncomfortable. I could see the desperation. Hate to break it to ya, but I ain't takin' you back."

Nightshade became furious, and forced herself between the couple. Before anyone could speak, Nightshade shoved Valerie into another couple so hard, she knocked all three of them over. She picked Valerie up and punched her face three hard times. Turbo took her just as several bouncers arrived, called for Crusher, and they took her away from the floor. Big Boss saw this, and he rushed out to Mace, to shield him from taking Valerie back.

"Don't even try, sucker!" he sneered, then turned to bouncers. "And none of you try to git her, either, see? She's all mine now, and I'm takin' her back to my lil' home."

But Valerie was even more horrified. "What the fuck do you think you're doing!" she screamed. "Let go of me! Mace, help!" Nightshade and Big Boss caught up with them, and they all were on their way out.

Mace was already on his cell phone to dial C.O.P.S. headquarters, reporting the kidnapping to Bulletproof. "Big Boss and his gang came here to harass us on our date, and they're tryin' to make off wit Valerie," he said.

He informed the bouncers, "Alert the door security, we have an attempted kidnappin'. Seal off all the exits quickly!" They nodded and contacted the door staff immediately. "Nobody gets in or out until the police arrive!" Within seconds, they received the word, and Mace relayed it to Bulletproof.

Meanwhile, Valerie had been struggling to free herself and stay in the club. Just as they got to the front doors, she stepped on Turbo and Crusher's feet the hardest, then as they let go, slapped them both across their faces.

"You assholes!" she yelled. "When I say I don't want you, it means I don't want you!" She was nearly in tears now. "Leave me the fuck alone. You've ruined my date!" She shoved through Big Boss and Nightshade, and ran back to find Mace. She saw him on the landing to the floor and ran to embrace him, crying.

"Oh, Mace, it was horrible!" she sobbed. "They didn't say anything, but I was sure they were going to make me their sex slave. Rape the hell out of me! Oh, I hope you called the police."

"I did, and they're on their way," he said. He took her back to their table.

Valerie practically clutched onto Mace's hand, so he called to the bartender, "Bring a large glass of water fer the lady here. She just had some emotional trauma!" She nodded in full agreement as he caressed her with his free hand.

Minutes later, they could hear faint screaming of law officers from the entrance. Valerie drank and said, "Aren't you going to help apprehend them?"

"Bulletproof would've asked me to stay wit you," he said. "And when they come here, let me do the talkin'. You only answer if they ask you questions, okay?"

"Right, and can we go home after the interrogation?" she asked. "Big Boss and his creeps sucked all the fun out of this for me."

Just then, Mace saw Sundown and Highway, and flagged them to their table. Valerie smiled at them as Highway said, "So, I hear you had a rough date. Care to tell us about it?"

"Oh, it was rough, all right," Mace said. "The whole night, it was about Valerie resistin' Big Boss' advances." He explained about Big Boss showing up at his apartment door while dinner was being cooked. "He left just 'fore we ate, and we thought we'd seen the last of him. But there he was, outside my apartment buildin' two hours later, just as we were about to leave fer the movies. And you can imagine my shock when I saw Nightshade wit him. The whole time, they wouldn't leave us alone, kept interruptin' the movie, askin' us why we won't go out wit them. Even when we moved down in front, they still wouldn't leave us alone. And they were so loud; it was the most shushin' I'd heard in a movie theater." He explained the violence Big Boss committed with the ushers, then explained their actions in the nightclub.

When they finished their note-taking, Highway said to Valerie, "Sugar, rest assured that the C.O.P.S. will have prison security keep a close eye on them."

"Thank you," she replied.

Just before they left, Sundown had an idea, and he whispered in Highway's ear. He nodded and spoke to Valerie again. "Oh, and one last thing, Valerie. Sundown and I have tomorrow night off. How would you like to go out with the both of us?"

Valerie gasped in surprise. "You're kidding!" she replied. "Go out with the both of you? Well, I've never been on a threesome date before, but I'm willing. Where will you take me?"

"That'll be a surprise," Sundown replied. "How 'bout one of us calls ya tomorrow afternoon? See ya." Mace glared at them as they left, then glared at Valerie as she stood up.

"What?" she asked. "You're not the only one who's in love with me, you know. They're free, I'm free, they asked me out, what did you expect me to say? Besides, I think you'll be working tomorrow night, won't you?" She finished her water.

Mace sighed. He remembered he was serving the graveyard shift tomorrow. "Can't argue wit that part." He waited as she excused herself to the ladies' room, then left together when she returned.

* * *

A/N: Just a reminder that the C.O.P.S. 4-DVD box set will be released to the public exactly a month from now. Please reserve your copies if you haven't already done so. Thanks. 


	23. Another Big Saturday

**Author's Note:** Hello again, and I hope everyone has had a happy Valentine's Day. In the scene at the White Apple Palace, there are more original characters, singers Rhett and Carlene, and piano girl, Juliet, as well as Earl and Henry Boston. (yes, in Tom's family! Shudders) Also more borrowing of classic musical pieces, specifically "Phantom of the Opera," (Andrew Lloyd Webber) "Show Boat" (Rogers and Hammerstein) and "Seven Brides For Seven Brothers" and (briefly) "Easter Parade" (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, Inc, as mentioned.) Please read and review, as usual.

* * *

Chapter 23

It was after midnight when Mace dropped Valerie off at her house. She knew he probably wouldn't come in because he had to work in the morning. Just as he pulled into her driveway, she said, "Thanks for the nice night, Mace. Despite everything that happened, I had a wonderful time. Wow, I haven't been to a nightclub since Tom and I got engaged."

"My pleasure, darlin'," he replied, then kissed her goodnight. "I'm sorry 'bout Big Boss an' Nightshade. That was totally unexpected."

"I intend to take care of that hog as early as Sunday," she said as she left his car. "Especially if he crashes my date with Sundown and Highway tomorrow night! Call me early next week, and we'll see what we can do, okay?"

"No problem, sweetheart," Mace replied. "Good night. I love you."

"I love you, too." She closed the door and waved goodbye along the walkway.

She was thinking about Barricade when she got inside. He'd called her every night since he and Jeremy arrived in Washington. Yet, she never told him that she'd had a date with Mace tonight. She didn't want any jealousies or envy to ruin his vacation. However, he'd be very interested in what Big Boss did to her throughout the date, she believed. _Sure, then you can tell him that Sundown and Highway asked you out for tomorrow night_, she thought. She rolled her eyes, then went to her answering machine. One flash.

"Got to be Barricade," she said as she pushed the button.

Sure enough, she heard Barricade's voice. "Valerie! Valerie, it's Barricade. Where are you, sweetheart? I thought you'd be here by the phone, but I guess you're out with one of my colleagues. After all, while the cat's away, right? Anyway, if you don't get home too late, please give me a call back. Ask to be put through room 237. I love you."

Valerie checked the last caller on the ID. The Sheraton Hotel with a Washington D.C. area code number. Sure, if she called back, she'd ask the night shift workers to put her through. But Barricade would probably be sleeping by now. She wondered if he was dreaming of her. He'd indeed be annoyed and unappreciated that she disturbed something so wonderful. She decided to call him first thing the next morning. Besides, she was tired herself. She decided to go to bed.

* * *

"And then… we went… to… see… the… Thomas… Jefferson… Memorial," Jeremy told his mother when she called the next morning. "He… was… the one… who… wrote… the… Decoration… of… Indroparents." 

"That's _Declaration _of _Independence_," Valerie corrected. "Well, I'm glad that you're having a good time over there. Could you put Barricade on for me, please?"

"All right," he answered. "I'll… talk… to you… later, okay? Bye."

"Bye-bye, sweetheart." Seconds later, she saw Barricade come on to the video screen. "Well, good morning, gorgeous."

"Hey, love," he said. "So, I take it you were out all last night. How did it go?"

"Oh, Barricade, I'm sorry we couldn't talk last night," Valerie apologized. "I had a good enough time. Mace was wonderful, but it could've been better if it weren't for the Big Boss." She explained the incident at Mace's apartment, with Big Boss at the door, and the disturbance that Big Boss created at the movies. She took a few breaths before getting to the scene at Electric Fruit.

"I'll just make this short and sweet," she said. "Mace and I were getting into dancing when we spotted _those _two come in with Turbo Tu-Tone and Rock Crusher. All three of them are still after me, it seems, not just that damn hog. I admit Turbo tried to be gentlemanlike, dancing with a distance so he couldn't crush my feet, but he obviously had to work harder. I don't think he can dance. Rock Crusher, he tried to choke me in attempt to dance with me.

"But it was Big Boss and Nightshade who were the biggest hassles, as usual! Big Boss spent the whole time trying to win me over off the dance floor. Telling him that fat men don't turn me on doesn't work, so I tried to tell him how badly he scares Jeremy. He told me that he could take care of my son, and show patience around him. Bullshit! He has about as much patience as a stressed parent in a house full of uncontrollable children! And thinks he can win my heart by buying me drinks. Meanwhile, Nightshade whined like a little child for Mace to take her back."

"Like that'd ever happen," Barricade said. "She's been acting kind of shady in the weeks prior to their separation."

"I know, she told him something about stealing jewelry for him, something I never knew," she replied. "Anyway, so Nightshade requested a song for him, apparently it was the same song she used to seduce him when he was over here that one time, do you remember him telling you that? So I joined her and Mace on the dance floor, and you should've seen her. Her dancing was just disgusting." Then, she got tearful as she explained the violence and kidnapping that followed. "But thank God the exits were already sealed off."

"Take it easy, Valerie. You're a resourceful woman. I'm sure you were able to fight them off."

"Oh yeah, they let go when I stomped on their feet. I rushed back to Mace as quickly as I could and he stayed with me until they were arrested. Of course, then we saw Sundown and Highway, and coincidently, they asked me out for another date tonight. Both of them are going to date me. I've never done that before."

Barricade looked dumbfounded on the screen. "Okay."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Barricade. Did I make you jealous? Oh, but you'll probably spend the rest of your trip scheming."

"Not really, but I should contact your cousin Graham for strategic advice."

She laughed a little bit. "What the hell would he know about what pleases me romantically?"

"I'm serious, Valerie. From what you told me about last night, I can tell I'm going to have to work even harder. And who knows what plans Sundown and Highway have for you?" He paused as he fought getting emotional, at least in front of Jeremy. "Valerie, I love you. I love you more than my own life, dammit! And look at Jeremy and me, he's like the son I've always wanted, even with his special needs. But my colleagues love you just the same, I know. And I'd sooner die than lose you to one of _them_. Valerie, tell me what to do. Tell me what I have to do to prove that I love you the most!"

"Barricade, for the love of God, calm down! You sound more desperate than you've ever been. Jeremy's probably listening; you're scaring him."

"I can't help it. I know I'd make the best husband for you, the best father for Jeremy. And I want to make it happen. Valerie, I want to take you as my wife in the near future. I think I'm justified in sounding desperate."

She touched her throat lightly, now the one who was speechless. Barricade wanting to _marry_ her. She wanted to think he was moving quite quickly, but his unmistakable look told her he was indeed serious about it. "Holy crap!" she said. "Barricade, that was so wonderful, but you're starting to go a bit fast for me."

"And yet it's so easy to see, I am the one you must choose. You know how much Jeremy loves me."

"Yes, and I've seen it," she agreed. "But maybe Sundown never mentioned to you that Jeremy also bonded with him on _his_ vacation." Barricade looked disgusted, but then she started crying, "Oh, Barricade, I beg you not to bring this up with him, and ask him to choose between you. You know he won't respond well to that kind of pressure."

"Right, I was thinking about that. I was picturing him crying."

She began to feel her stomach hurting, like there was a steel ball in the pit. Now, not only could she still not decide, she felt as if it came down to Sundown and Barricade… unless Highway desperately tried something tonight. She didn't want to think of any of it now, she had an important day ahead of her.

"Valerie, what's wrong?" Barricade asked. "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry if I'm putting so much pressure on you. Oh, listen to me, sounding like a despairing Romeo afraid of losing his Juliet. I'm spoiling my own fun. It's just that I've thought of you a lot when I'm not explaining American history to Jeremy. I've dreamt only of you these past three nights."

"The whole night? Most dreams don't last that long. And I've dreamt of you, too." _And the rest of your competition as well_, she thought.

She immediately started thinking about her radio commercial. Before she left work the day before, she'd called Paul Quinette to arrange a special meeting at her house for today. They'd come at two o'clock in the afternoon. She'd called Rhonda at her work, and she and Nicole would be coming at around lunchtime. She had to get ready, showered, dressed. She wouldn't have time for a written speech, though she knew she wouldn't need one. Besides, Barricade probably also had another productive day planned with Jeremy.

"Listen, Valerie, I have to go," Barricade said. "I can tell Jeremy's ready for a guided tour of the White House. Will you think about what I said? I'll call you later, okay? I love you."

"I love you, too, Barricade," Valerie replied. She said goodbye and hung up slowly.

Two hours later, she had already changed into an appropriate meeting outfit, her hair and makeup prepared. When she heard the doorbell ring, she smiled, knowing who it was, and immediately brought her guests in when she answered.

"Rhonda!" she said. "So glad you could make it." She noticed Nicole carrying a plastic bag with three wrapped submarine sandwiches. "Oh, and you brought lunch? Just the right time."

"Well, we thought it was a good idea to bring something here," Rhonda said. "We agreed on nothing sloppy or greasy. Messy clothes are not a good look with business clients."

In the kitchen, Rhonda opened all the sandwiches to see what was in them. She found one consisting of ham, lettuce and onions, and said, "Here, Val! I told Nicole you'd like this ham one." She put it on a plate and gave it to her sister. Then, Rhonda noticed the roast beef with all toppings on it for herself, same with a roast chicken one for Nicole.

At the table, Rhonda said, "Oh, you said something about Mace taking you out last night. How did it go?"

"God, he was so wonderful, but I wish it could've been better," Valerie replied. "It was that goddamn Big Boss who ruined it, along with Nightshade horning in." She explained the dinner, then started to eat a little faster as she rehashed the movie theater and nightclub incidents. "That little bitch just won't give him up!" Then, she revealed Sundown and Highway meeting them and added, "Now I'm going out with both of them tonight. Threesome date. I'm expecting them to call sometime in the next several hours, so I'll know what to wear. If it's anywhere fancy, maybe that same maroon dress I wore on my first date with Sundown."

"You mean that dress you decided to go swimming in, and Richard said was ruined when it dried out?" Rhonda suggested.

"Oh, shut up, I'm sure that dress did not say 'dry clean only.'"

Shortly after one, Valerie was just about to explain the business meeting procedure to her sister and niece, when the doorbell rang again. She went to the door, and looked at it nervously. "Crap!" she said. "They must be early. I told them not to come until two."

"So answer the door!" Rhonda said. "I'll prepare the stereo." She turned it on to the CD player, then quickly sat on the sofa beside her daughter.

Valerie saw Paul Quinette and Melissa Shores as she opened the door. "Welcome!" she said surprisingly. "I didn't expect you for another hour."

"Well, it's been a busy morning for us today," Mr. Quinette replied. "When we were finally able to take some time out for lunch, we decided to get this meeting done while we're at it." They followed Valerie to the living room, and saw her relatives.

"These must be the commercial actors you mentioned," Ms. Shores said.

"They are," Valerie responded. She introduced them to Rhonda and Nicole, then the clients introduced themselves to them. Valerie showed Mr. Quinette and Ms. Shores to the loveseat, then excused herself to get the commercial CD.

"As I explained to you yesterday," she said to the clients, "this radio commercial deals with a typical mother-daughter argument over which music they want to hear."

Shores nodded and said, "That's pretty interesting."

"Isn't it?" Valerie replied. "Now, the reason why you wouldn't hear parents ranting, or fighting with their children on radio advertising anymore is because in the past, many of those commercials are known to be too melodramatic, or have such grisly details about family cruelty and such, mostly to promote some hotline for family help. And in this day and age, we want to hear about situations that promote family friendliness and compromise, especially when promoting a station like JEWEL-FM."

"That's true," Mr. Quinette agreed.

Valerie turned to Rhonda and Nicole. "When I mentioned that I cast my sister and niece here in the commercial," she said, "you may have been quick to dismiss this as an easy way out of auditioning people. However, this decision was largely inspired by the overwhelming success of the Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs cereal advertisement, which featured my son, Jeremy. Now, when my employer, George Sussex, first heard the commercial, unfortunately, he criticized Rhonda's acting, but saw potential for Nicole." She slid the CD in the player. "But I'll let you be the judge of that."

Mr. Quinette and Ms. Shores listened to Rhonda and Nicole's "arguing." Valerie saw smiles and nodding over the musical selections, satisfied looks over the "compromise" part, and the clients laughed a little at Nicole's line after that. When it ended, Ms. Shores said, "That was very good, if I do say so myself. I like the storyline concept, it's quite original from all the other commercials I've heard in my whole career, and it's obvious the lines were well written. _'I'm getting sick and tired of your rock and roll,'_ and the ironically memorable, _'Can I crank it up when we get to my music?'_ And I like the way it got vetoed. Very humorous."

"I agree," Mr. Quinette said. "I found that to be quite entertaining, despite your sister's obvious lack of acting skill." He turned to address Rhonda. "Rhonda, is it? I have one question. Are you sure that you were a fan of Celine Dion and Shania Twain back when they were popular? I'm just wondering about the accuracy and truth behind the lines spoken."

"I still am," she said. "I still have yet to hear any other artist who can beat out Celine Dion, voice-wise. And I had to use willpower to keep from singing along to that Shania bit in the commercial. I know all the words to every song she ever produced. My other favorites include Elton John, Mariah Carey and, when I was a teenager, Duran Duran." Mr. Quinette and Ms. Shores smiled at her, as if she'd be the perfect spokeswoman for the station.

They turned to Nicole next, and Rhonda decided to speak for her. "About her line that mentioned Purple Rainbow and Davina Dallas. Sir, I can assure you that my daughter is not into music like that. From what I've seen and heard, Davina Dallas is today what Avril Lavigne was nearly two decades ago, and not even I could stand _her_ back then. Both claim to be punk rockers, but everyone knows that they're purely pop, or else you wouldn't have those two artists on your airplay roster. Nicole's more into the 'real punk rock' scene and harder bands. Music like… uh…"

"Fly On Drugs, Mom," Nicole replied. "Black Sunday. Satellite Jones. Targravy."

"Yes, anything that gives her father and me headaches," Rhonda said. "Mind you, I make her listen to your station in the car, as I refuse to listen to anything _she_ calls music."

"My other niece, Sarah, listens to JEWEL-FM as well," Valerie said. "If you want, we can rerecord it with Sarah playing the daughter."

"No, that's okay," Ms. Shores said. "I think Nicole's performance will grab the attention of the young teens group who listens to Purple Rainbow and Davina, even if she doesn't. A splendid job on her part. As for Rhonda, I'll say that you shouldn't look into acting any time soon, but you do sound quite Mom-like in this thing, maybe from your experience."

"I agree," Mr. Quinette said. "Your speaking was a bit chilly, yet firm enough to get that point across that you've had it with your daughter blasting her stuff all the time."

"That's pretty much how it is at my house," Rhonda laughed.

"So it's a yes?" Valerie guessed.

"It's a yes for us," Mr. Quinette said. "If your writing and concept skills are that sound, maybe we can expect another commercial from you in the future. And just for your information, our station does a commercial-free 'radio theater' show every Sunday night. Think maybe you can also pull off a script for us?"

Valerie knew that was a joke, but the offer sounded so tempting to her. "I'll have to talk to both Lancer and Sussex about that," she said.

The meeting was concluded soon after, and minutes after the clients left, she heard the phone in the kitchen.

"It's probably Mr. Sussex," she said. "He's calling to congratulate me on a job well done." But when she got there, she saw Sundown's name displayed on the ID. "Or not!"

"Hello, Sundown," she answered when she saw him on the screen. "How was the rest of your shift?"

"Eventfully busy," he answered. "It just kept goin' after the raid at yer nightspot, even when we landed those crooks in prison. I'd give y'all the grisly details, 'cept it'd take all afternoon. All I'll tell ya right now is that when my shift ended at six this mornin', I went straight to bed, an' slept fer eight hours. Don't know 'bout Highway, though. I was so exhausted, I did somethin' I hardly ever do – slept wit my denims on. I just got up half an hour ago, an' felt surprisingly alive after a shower."

Valerie laughed, trying to picture Sundown wearing jeans to his bed. She laughed harder, imagining herself having sex with him in either bed while he was jeans-clad. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she said. "It's just that you sleeping in your jeans and underwear sounds a bit rich for me. I'll bet you have to air out your bed." When she calmed down, "So, I presume you called about tonight."

"Yep, just finished talkin' with Highway," he said. "There's some piano playin' and a couple of singers out from Atlanta tonight at the White Apple Palace. Some selections from old musicals, from what I was told. Just that club, no dinner 'forehand. Hope that's all right wit ya."

"Sounds great, but tonight?" she wondered. "How were you able to make reservations?"

"Nonsense. It may look like a fancy place for the elite rich upper class, but it's a very public spot. It ain't like no fancy, expensive restaurant, where you gotta reserve a table a few days in advance. It's just one of those places where you can have a good champagne."

"In that case, I'm in." Then, Valerie had another thought. "You know, Big Boss wanted to take me there last night for a special evening. He was so mad when I told him about my date with Mace, that's why he stalked me last night. And pardon the frank language, but he'll be so pissed if he finds out I'm going there with you and Highway instead of him."

"Must be one of his favorite hangouts, I reckon. Well, he an' his cronies deserve to see you in the company of two of the good men."

"Yeah, that'll make them all squirm."

"So, Highway an' I will pick you up at seven tonight. Wear yer best dress. See ya."

"See you." Valerie hung up and went to her sister. "Rhonda! I have another date. Sundown and Highway are taking me to the White Apple Palace tonight! Are you sure that maroon dress I wore two months ago is okay? I'm pretty sure it is."

"I'm sure it got all mucky after you decided to go swimming in it," Rhonda answered. "Don't you have anything else?"

Valerie was about to answer when the phone rang again. It was the Lancer and Sussex agency. She saw Mr. Sussex on the video when she answered.

"Valerie, I got a call from Mr. Quinette, saying your commercial was already accepted," he said. "Once again, I must say how pleased I am with you."

"Thank you, sir," she said, then thought of the last thing Mr. Quinette said. "Uh, boss, you ever hear of that Sunday night radio theater show that JEWEL-FM airs? You think maybe I can write one of _those_ scripts for them as a side project?"

* * *

After dinner, Valerie searched her closets for the same maroon dress she wore at the beach that first time with Sundown. She found it in her bathroom closet. It still looked to be in good condition, but she checked the wash labels anyway. "Machine wash in warm water, then tumble dry low," she said to herself. "Which I did as soon as we got back from Karen's that time. Hah! _Not_ dry clean, Rhonda." 

She changed into it and examined herself in the mirror. Maybe the dress shrunk a few inches at the bottom, but it still fit her. She was braless, too, just like the last time. She went to her main closet for the perfect pair of shoes. She was convinced that an evening of piano music and big bands at fancy nightclubs called for fancy pairs of shoes. She put on a black pair with a small diamond in the middle of each one. She decided she looked perfect for the White Apple Palace. Now, with some glitzy jewelry, she'd look like she was going out for New Year's Eve.

She was sitting in her living room, wondering what transportation would be used. She thought of Sundown's truck, but it was probably the two of them with Jeremy that one time they went to watch the sunset. She tried to remember. Three adults in a truck would only take up so much room. And Highway's motorcycle obviously wasn't going to help. So what was he going to drive?

Soon, she heard the doorbell. She answered to see Sundown in a black tuxedo with a yellow carnation, and a black cowboy hat. She was amazed as he kissed her hand.

"Wow, I thought were just going to be entertained by a 1940's sounding band," she said. "You look like we're going to a formal ball. Too bad I don't own a pair of long black gloves." She stepped outside and locked the door.

Down the walkway, she noticed Highway's light blue Sedan. Sundown was telling her, "The White Apple Palace is known fer its ritzy atmosphere, 'specially fer nights like this. That's what makes it so nice. I've been there twice fer police charity functions, and they were pretty formal. That's why I told ya to wear yer best dress." But Valerie was too immersed in the car to pay much attention. He touched her face so she could look at him. "An' you do look lovely this evenin'. I remember that dress so well."

At the car, she noticed Highway sitting at the wheel, and it suddenly came back to her. "And I remember this car!" she declared. "Highway took Jeremy to the waterslides in this car last month."

Sundown opened the front passenger door for her, and as she got in, noticed Highway also dressed in a black tuxedo. He kissed her lips, and she said, "Wow, how ritzy is the White Apple Palace again? I'd think you're a bit overdressed."

"It's pretty fancy," Highway said. ""It's kind of like stepping back into the Depression and Second World War eras. The crystal and brass chandeliers and lighting fixtures definitely give off this atmosphere. You'll notice that from the get-go. Sometimes people will flock there to hear music from those eras. The big bands just look authentic. If male guests don't dress in tuxedos, they usually wear suits and ties. And the women usually dress like you are. Oh, but you will definitely fit in with that dress. You look marvelous."

"Thank you," Valerie replied. "And what about poetry readings? Hardtop wanted to take me there for that when we went out that one time. Not that I have anything against Whitney Morgan, but we would've made it that far if she hadn't shown up at that restaurant."

"Didn't even know they held poetry readin's," Sundown said from the back.

"Me neither, that sounds so informal for this place," Highway agreed. "Maybe the dress code is casual yet dressy for men, slacks and colorful dress shirts."

"Can you believe I wore a scarlet evening dress to work that day?" Valerie commented. Both C.O.P.S. started to laugh. "I know, very unprofessional, but he picked me up from work."

When they arrived, the first thing Valerie saw was a guest book in the corridor, and an entrance worker standing at the doorway. "Wow," she said. "You don't make reservations here, and yet they make you sign a guest book? I guess this is a fancy place." She was the first to put her name down, then Highway and Sundown.

Valerie looked all around inside the showroom. Booths along the walls big enough to sit around six people, she guessed, the seating made of cherry oak and padding of brown leather. Tables with chairs made of the same cherry oak, but the leather padding on those ones was black. All the tables were probably made of cherry oak, too, but they were all covered with white linen tablecloths. Each one had a small lamp in the middle, with the shades reminiscent of stained glass window fixtures. They all looked pretty, though.

"Oh, how beautiful," she cooed. "Look at all those table lamps. I'll bet they were all bought from Tiffany's."

The three sat down at one of the few vacant tables, and Valerie stared over at the stage. A woman with light brown hair, wearing a goldenrod-colored evening gown, just plinking away on a white baby grand piano. Valerie stared back at her dates. She didn't have to look around anymore to be convinced that this was a beautiful club.

Meanwhile, Big Boss, Rock Crusher, Turbo Tu-Tone, Dr. Badvibes and Buttons McBoomBoom were in the limousine, on their way to the White Apple Palace, all dressed up in tuxedoes. Big Boss, Turbo and Crusher had escaped from prison that morning, as usual, and Big Boss wanted the evening that he never got with Valerie. He was also thinking about how she caused the latest arrest, still reeling.

"Oh, if I ever see that woman again," he seethed, "I'm gonna really let her have it! It's bad enough that she's still resistin' us, but when she has us go to jail fer a second time when we had all good intentions…" He was now reeling over the first time they kidnapped her, and their resulting battle with the C.O.P.S. "Oh, she's gonna learn once an' fer all that no jail cell can hold me, and I have ways of makin' her love me!"

"Cheer up," Buttons said. "Tonight, the Palace's doin' piano entertainment themed around old movie musicals. I'm sure it'll be better than last night. An' who knows, we may not even see Valerie there."

"I don't know," Big Boss replied. "When I invited her, she said she'd rather go wit anyone else but me."

"We found her at a techno place, remember?" Turbo informed him. "You think a woman like her would be seen at the White Apple Palace fer this kind of thing?"

When they arrived, they could hear loud mixed chatter from the door. As the approached the guest book, Dr. Badvibes said to Big Boss, "Let me sign my name first, then the rest of the crooks, then you. After all, we must save the best signature for last."

But as he was about to sign, Dr. Badvibes and the rest of the followers noticed something quite shocking. Big Boss was about to ask when Crusher said, "Uh, boss, looks like _she_ decided to come here without ya." They pointed out Valerie, Sundown and Highway's signatures, and Big Boss became so furious, he shoved them all aside to sign the guest book first.

Meanwhile, inside the showroom, Valerie had finished a glass of vodka with apple juice, then said to Sundown and Highway, "Say you guys wanted to plan the wedding with me. Tell me all the details you'd want. Now I've already had a church affair when I married Tom, so it'd have to be something really special."

"Why wouldn't ya want a church weddin', Valerie?" Sundown asked. "I reckon that while a bride can be married a thousand times, each one should be a lovely church weddin'. At least that's what my Mama believes."

"Sundown, the etiquette books say only one church affair per bride," she replied. "That means–" Suddenly, she noticed the bad guys' presence. "Oh shit, you guys, look who's coming this way!"

They all watched as Big Boss and his lovestruck minions sat in a booth across from them. Valerie looked away and reached across to take Highway's hand. She slowly looked back at them, and saw them talking amongst themselves. Big Boss caught her eye contact and glared back at her. She looked fearful at her dates. "Shit, now I see why he is mad at me. Maybe it was a bad idea to come here."

Sundown promptly brought her chair over to his, and put his arm around her. He made her look into his eyes. "My love, you'll not think to look at him. If I remember correctly, you were tellin' me how a bride can have only one church weddin'. Tell me how this can be."

Suddenly, the piano music stopped, and they saw a dark brunette in a sapphire evening gown standing on the stage with a man with graying brown hair, in a tuxedo just like Sundown and Highway's, and the crooks. The woman was speaking into a microphone. "Welcome, y'all my friends!" She had a deep Southern accent. "How lovely that we got a full house tonight. Y'all can call me Carlene, and this here's my singin' partner, Rhett – ain't he a handsome gentleman, ladies – an' on the piano is the lovely Juliet."

Valerie examined Rhett for a few moments, pretending to listen as he talked about favorite musicals, then looked back at Sundown and Highway. She shook her head and said, "No, he doesn't even compare to you two." She stared at the singer again, trying to guess his real age. "He has to be a few years older than Hardtop, and he's going gray already. At this rate, his face might be wrinkled before he's forty-five." She giggled even though it was a little insensitive. "Men getting old before their time aren't all that attractive, in my opinion."

This time, Valerie was listening intently as Rhett said, "How many of you are all fans of _Phantom of the Opera_?" She noticed his Southern accent was rather attractive, almost matching Sundown's. "Well, Carlene an' I went to see it many years ago as teenagers, an' we loved it so much, we started singin' like that Phantom and Christine immediately, though I would've preferred to be the Count Raoul myself."

After his speech, Juliet began to play _Music of the Night_, and everybody listened to Rhett sing. From time to time, Valerie would look over at Big Boss, and catch her either ignoring her or glaring at her coldly. It kept happening as Rhett and Carlene started singing the musical's title song. Still, she tried to concentrate on the music.

Valerie and Sundown ordered martinis, hoping it would help her to relax. It started to work for a few more songs. Then, when Carlene introduced another musical, _Show Boat_, Highway noticed Big Boss and Dr. Badvibes coming their way. He tapped Sundown's shoulder and pointed. Valerie looked back at him, and tried to ignore him.

"Well, well, well, Valerie Boston," Big Boss said while he stood over her. "You wouldn't come here wit me last night, but you'll come here tonight wit these two copperheads?"

Sundown slammed his hand on the table. "Now, you listen here, you varmint!" he began.

"Let me handle this, sweetheart," Valerie replied. She turned to the Big Boss.

"I think I meant what I said when I told you I'd rather come here with anyone else but you and your little gang," she said to him. "Now, it's fine if you're here with your little group. You can keep to yourselves in your little booth over there. Leave me here with my own dates. You can't make me join you."

"Well, you don't have to be so rude about it," Dr. Badvibes said.

"Okay, how many times have _you_ all asked me out?" Valerie replied. "Too many to count, I know. And how many times did I tell you, 'no?' Too many to count, I know. Now, I'm losing my patience with you at a rather moderate rate. I think that's all the reason to be rude with you. But even this is not working with you, is it? I'd say I'm pretty close to becoming a she-devil, expect I'm afraid you'd kill me in your jealous rage if I actually did." She finished her martini.

"Maybe I need to order you another drink," Dr. Badvibes offered. "Perhaps it'll help make you less crabby."

"No, what will make me less crabby is if you go away and stop staring at me from your booth," Valerie corrected.

"In fact, why don't you just leave?" Highway added. "You've obviously come here to harass Valerie like you did last night. You ruined her date, Big Boss, you and your crooks; she was so miserable when we saw her and Mace. You're not going to ruin tonight for her."

"How in the hell didja get outta jail to begin wit?" Sundown demanded. "Speakin' of what happened last night, that's the reason why we put y'all away there. They were s'posed to keep a strict eye on ya."

"Maybe you're unaware of the new 'cutting knife' device I've added to the air speeder," Dr. Badvibes said. "Strong and sharp enough to cut through any wall made of any substance. Not to brag, but I was able to locate their jail cell and cut a big square hole in the wall. I thought you C.O.P.S. knew, if you bust one of us to send to jail, then the rest of us have ways of getting them out."

"Nice try, but those smarts of yours aren't going to get me to you anytime soon," Valerie told him. She stood up and shooed Big Boss and Dr. Badvibes back to their booth. Dr. Badvibes looked disgusted, so he grabbed his leader's hand and left.

Valerie moved her chair towards the stage, and vowed to listen to Rhett and Carlene sing for the rest of the night. Carlene had just finished a song about how she "can't help lovin' that man", and during the applause, Highway said, "Here, let me order you another drink, sweetheart." He called for the waiter, flagging him down. Seconds later, Highway ordered, "How about an apple martini for the lady?"

"And I'll have some brandy wit cinnamon," Sundown added.

When the applause died down, Rhett said into his microphone, "Thank y'all, everyone. Now Carlene and I would like to take a break from Broadway, and take you all the way to the musicals of Hollywood, specifically, a famous studio called Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer – now _that_ one was famous for its musicals, wasn't it?"

"So was Warner Brothers, I believe," Valerie whispered. "And Columbia Pictures, too? Didn't that one do _My Fair Lady_?"

"I'd just like to start out with one of mine an' Carlene's favorite romantic musical movies from that golden age, with Howard Keel an' Jane Powell, _Seven Brides For Seven Brothers._" He noticed the waiter giving drinks to Valerie, Sundown and Highway directly across from him. "An' I see we have one potential bride an' two brothers here tonight… uh, you two guys are brothers, right?"

"Police colleagues, actually," Highway corrected. "And there's more of us, too." Everyone else except Big Boss and his gang laughed. Valerie blushed, but wasn't at all embarrassed.

"Well, there's an idea fer a romantic musical," Carlene said. "Call it _I Want To Be A Police Wife_." More laughter.

Then, Juliet began to play the opening bars of _Bless Your Beautiful Hide_. "I believe this is the first song sung in the film, so let's hit it!" Rhett introduced, then sang like a cowboy with the strength of a lumberjack from Maine. After he finished, Sundown declared, "Aw hell, I can sing like that, no problem."

"Then why don't you get up there and try?" Highway challenged.

Valerie slapped his hand lightly. She said, "It's very rude for him to just jump up there in the middle of a piece."

They listened quietly until Rhett and Carlene began the last song of the musical piece, then Valerie overheard another stranger say behind her, "Well, well, well, if it isn't Valerie Boston and her little police bastards. Long time, no see, and for a good reason."

She turned to see two tall men with graying hair, one of them going bald, standing over her. They were dressed in gray and black business-like suits, and glaring at her like they wanted to slap her. She felt nauseated, and whispered, "Oh… my… fucking… God."

Sundown looked just as displeased, more people intruding on their date. "Who in hell are you," he blasted softly, "and what in hell do you want?"

Valerie touched Sundown's hand. "This is my ex-father-in-law, and his brother," she whispered.

"Oh, come on, Valerie, just because there's a song going on, doesn't mean you can't speak up!" the man in gray blasted. He glared at Sundown and Highway. "My name is Earl Boston, and this is my brother, Henry. I _am_ Tom Boston's father!"

"Great, the one name I'm trying to forget," she muttered. Then, in a little higher tone, "Look, Earl, you've probably been here since you learned about Tom's death, haven't you? If you're here to give me details about the funeral, you're wasting your time. I'm not attending."

"Save it, you independent-minded harlot!" Earl shouted, then the music stopped. Everyone was staring at Valerie's table as he continued speaking. "Valerie Slamier Boston, I want you to know that I hold _you_ responsible for what happened to my only child son. When you and Tom got married, I told you both that I didn't care about becoming a grandfather, and that Tom should focus his energies on the business that I passed down to him. Of course, you knew when you were engaged that Tom had plans of his own for the store I worked so hard to give him. Expansions! Chains outside the state! He said he would! You knew that a child would complicate all that, and yet you insisted on receiving his seed!"

"Excuse me, but is it wrong for me to have a career and family all my own?" Valerie cried. "Especially since my sisters and cousins were having babies of their own, and my family felt I shouldn't be any different."

"Which is more important, Valerie!" Earl blasted. "A family of your own, or working hard to live the American dream?"

"Excuse me, but becoming a billionaire, retiring at forty-five, owning a yacht, and six expensive homes in South America, Australia and southwestern Europe, are _not _what _all_ Americans dream of!" Valerie protested. "At least, that wasn't what _my_ father and uncles dreamed of for their families!"

"Welcome to the real world, woman!" Earl roared. "The days of a man just needing to put a roof over his family's head, keep them fed, and make sure the bills are paid, all the while making quality time to spend with them, are over! Nowadays, people are going for the big picture, and they did it by putting children at the BOTTOM of their priority lists! I had Tom join me in my business with the visions that he'd have everything offered to him, too – and you!"

"Oh, how typical!" Valerie said, angrier. "Where did you get that ludicrous idea that wealth, riches and materialistic things were all part of what's important, that which you obviously taught your son? I don't care about owning my own limousine, or a one hundred fifty thousand-story mansion in the Hamptons, or all that other shit. My parents would _not _have put up with that kind of spoiled attitude from my sisters or me! I'm an advertising manager with a sixty-five grand annual salary, and I'm not looking to be on the cover of _Forbes_ in MY lifetime! So sorry if I ruined THAT for you!"

Rhett spoke into the microphone. "Uh, is there a problem, ma'am? I can get the entrance worker to git rid of the intruders."

"No, that's quite all right," Valerie answered back. "Maybe you people on the stage should keep out of this!"

"All the greatest men in the world strive to be wealthy, Valerie," Henry said. "If the world doesn't judge a man by the amount of riches he has, they should."

"If only you'd used protection, or better yet, kept your goddamn legs closed," Earl added, "or had an abortion when Tom demanded it, you would have had something a lot bigger than that old house you lived in. You'd still be married to my son. And he wouldn't have had to declare bankruptcy and start over at _your_ selfish desires. Face it, girlie-pie, you had Jeremy only to satisfy your self-important whim."

"Why, you arrogant, money-hungry, self-absorbed asshole!" Valerie spat. "No wonder you never came around to see Jeremy or me at the house! No wonder Tom always wanted to visit you by himself! You think of Jeremy as an inconvenience, just like Tom did! You think of your own grandchild as a mistake! Is that what you had Tom thinking when he was shaking him violently all the time?"

"I told him to do something – anything – to make that baby see _early on_ that he was not wanted in the Boston family!" Earl blasted. "I didn't care if he took him to the deepest lake, held him upside-down and kept his head underwater for given periods of time. I felt that what I told him was appropriate. And we never talked about that kid when he did come over."

"Well, then I guess you'll be happy to know how successful you were. Thanks to Tom, Jeremy's brain has been so severely damaged to the point–"

"Oh, save the sob story, you permissive little bitch!" Earl exploded. "Tom's told me every little defense mechanism you ever used." He started to mimic her. "_Jeremy can't learn any lessons, easy or hard. He's not able to tell right from wrong. He's not physically able to do many chores. He'll never be able to do well in school._ That's all just a bunch of horse shit! At least Tom was trying to do _his_ part to show that bad behavior would not be tolerated _in his house_!"

Henry stared at both Highway and Sundown. "My nephew, Tom, was a good man and a good provider. And you decided to take him from this world because you fell for Valerie's lies. I hope you both lose your careers after a through investigation over this." He turned to Valerie. "As for you, if only you'd brought him to my house so that Tom could take him, like he asked you to, instead of letting him go to the zoo with your damn boyfriends, he'd still be alive today. I'm positive he would've been a much better parent to him than you've ever been."

She started to protest, but Henry wouldn't let her speak. "And I'd like to add to my brother's comments about Jeremy's behavior not being tolerated. I strongly believe that there is nothing wrong with spanking and beating mentally disabled children like him. It is for the same reason that many parents of these children won't let them have extra services for their education. You see, spanking and beating these types of children whenever they misbehave gives them a sense of normalcy, which they want and need, and that's why Tom insisted that what he did was discipline, not abuse. 'He must be treated like a normal child, and given the same type of punishment for any misbehavior.' That was the advice given to your husband when Jeremy was declared mentally damaged. And from what Tom told me, you continued to let the boy walk all over you, and used his disabilities to justify your cause."

"Shut up, you old goat!" Sundown barked. "That had to be the most pretentious an' arrogant speech I've ever heard! All that stuff about Jeremy havin' a sense of normalcy is all a crock! Did you know that he can't speak at a normal rate, despite an amazin' vocabulary for his functionin' age? Did you know that he's prone to movin' his head all around 'cuz his neck muscles were ruined from all the shakin'? You think those are the physical traits of a normal child?"

"Thank you, Sundown!" Valerie interjected, then turned to the senior brothers. "Jeremy will never be a normal child. I know this. My family knows this. Sundown and Highway and all the other C.O.P.S. know this. Jeremy just turned eleven, and I don't know how much longer he has left to live. He could very well die shortly after he turns eighteen. I'll be surprised if he lives that long. Hell, he may not even live to see his sixteenth birthday. But Tom was too bullheaded to see that. If he had been successful, Jeremy wouldn't have lived to see his twelfth. You want someone to blame, blame the judge who finalized our divorce, but doesn't be surprised if he doesn't side with you."

"Oh, believe me, I spelled all this out in my testimony," Earl said. "However, it had to be when _you_ weren't in the courtroom, Valerie, because I couldn't stand the sight of you. And I obviously still can't. The way you act like both a parent and a friend to your son. Hah! It sends confusing and contradictory messages to him and you know it. And I don't mind you dating a policeman with a special detrimental talent, but no self-respecting woman would date more than one at the same time. You're doing your son no favors with your sluttish behavior. Harlot!"

"Quit calling Valerie a damn harlot!" Highway barked. "She may be a passive-permissive parent who dates around, but she has a damn valid reason for it! And your views on disciplining mentally retarded children are wrong, Henry. If you didn't think about yourselves so much, you'd understand that disciplining children like Jeremy takes a lot of time and patience. And another thing, your 'darling' son and nephew did deserve to die. Tom Boston was a wife-abuser and child abuser who never gave a damn shit about his family! We don't want to hear about how this man was spanked as a child, and he turned into a functional member of society because of it. That was no excuse for him to treat Jeremy the way he did."

"These men I'm in love with are ten times better fathers to Jeremy than Tom ever was," Valerie told them. "You should see them, they're the epitome of how a real man should be with his boy, showing love, kindness and strength towards him, to make sure he's happy, confident and well-adjusted. I think Jeremy will be much happier with whoever I choose among them."

"Now I reckon it's time fer you ol' timers to leave," Sundown concluded. "We don't want yer kind around here."

"Not until you tell us where Jeremy is," Earl insisted. "We'll wait as long as we have to."

"Fuck off!" Valerie remarked. "I'm not telling you where he is. You just want to take custody of him and finish what Tom had been doing. Let me tell you something, then, I'm not going to let you."

"Hey, entrance man!" Sundown called to the entrance way. "I've got here a coupla crashers who still won't go away." The entrance worker stepped inside and took the brothers out, everyone applauding after them. Still, Valerie sat back down, put her face into her hands and began sobbing. Sundown and Highway immediately came to comfort her.

Big Boss and his gang could only look on in disgust and jealousy.

When it was quiet again, Rhett said into his microphone, "Now, I reckon maybe the waiters should bring a straight Sprite on the rocks to the poor, sobbin' woman in the maroon dress over there. And I won't get into that _Sobbin' Women_ song again, it just might upset her. Instead, we'll just git to our next number, another M-G-M piece called _Easter Parade_."

Juliet began to play the title song of the musical, Rhett began singing, and the evening continued without incident or interruption.

* * *

That's it for this one. Until next chapter! I promise, it'll be very special! 


	24. Desperation And Preparation

**Author's Note: **Hi, everyone. First, some bad news. The Whitney Morgan interview with Valerie that I promised here is being put off for another chapter. I know you're on edge right now, but given the time the last chapter ended and the perceived (appropriate) date of the BIG EVENING, I had to throw in another plotline to fill in the time. As you may have noticed, I didn't put much into the Bowzer-Valerie romance, so this definitely called for that. Unfortunately, by the time I'd finished all the drama during and after the affair, I had a lot of pages on me. Given the number of pages I'd have to dedicate to the interview, this chapter would be too long (it's long enough as it is,) so putting it off another chapter was a good move, IMO.

Also, the master computer that my father chiefly works on has been dead since February 11th, so we've been sharing this laptop, which I chiefly use for this project, thus explaining the long update.

Anyway, please read and review. Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Chapter 24

After she'd gotten off the phone with Barricade the next morning, Valerie debated whether or not to confront Big Boss. She knew his stalking was getting far enough, but she was impressed with how he and his crooks hadn't advanced on her last night since she told them off again. Perhaps she should try, and proceeded to get the phone book. She started to look up the Big Boss' headquarters, but stopped just as she got to the "B" section in the White Pages.

"What are you, nuts?" she asked herself. "You want that fat bastard thinking you are available?"

She put the phone book on top of the refrigerator and looked outside her kitchen window. Another beautifully hot, sunny day. It'd been beautiful like that practically the whole summer, and she hoped it would stay like this as it neared September. She looked through the list of callers on her phone. Surely, she still had Cindy's number. She could call her, and tell of the dating disasters she had this weekend. She looked back at the phone book; maybe call Elise, too. She was wondering something, but the answer came to her as quickly as the question.

"Oh, right, Jeremy's never really been around here so much," she said to herself. "_That's_ why Brian and Tyler almost never called here this whole summer."

She called Cindy first. She'd never even seen the inside of her or Elise's houses, she realized. Maybe one of them could ask her over for coffee. A walk around the block? Maybe, but she could risk the Big Boss finding her on a leisurely limousine ride. She'd wanted to deal with him when it was just her.

She immediately saw Cindy appear on the screen, and she immediately said, "Valerie, hi! So, what's up? I hear you had a couple of hot dates with several of Blackbelt's colleagues last night _and_ Friday night."

"Yeah, and last night's date was the less disastrous one, I'm afraid." Valerie tried not to cry as she told about Big Boss harassing her and Mace the whole Friday night, his actions with Nightshade at the movies, and what they, Turbo and Crusher all did at Electric Fruit.

"In the questioning process, Sundown and Highway both decided to ask me out, and they took me to the White Apple Palace," she said. "Oh, it was so lovely. They had these singers out of Atlanta, and they sang all these wonderful selections from all the great musicals. And Sundown and Highway dressed up in tuxedoes and, oh, they looked so handsome. However, the show hadn't started when just who happens to show up?"

"The stalkers from Friday night?"

"Who had just gotten out of jail, yes. Along with Buttons McBoomBoom and Dr. Badvibes. You should've heard Badvibes bragging about his latest prison break invention. Luckily, they stayed away after my dates and I told them so, and we were just in the middle of enjoying the evening, when whom should come in but my grieving ex-father-in-law and his brother, still lauding you-know-who as a fucking saint. Oh, pardon the frank language on a Sunday morning."

"It's quite all right, curse all you want," Cindy laughed. "So, what did they say?"

Valerie told about the whole tirade, Earl Boston blaming Valerie for Tom's death, and ruining Tom's business goals and reputation, and hoping Sundown and Highway would lose their badges over the killing. Henry Boston's opinions on spanking and the mentally retarded. "Thank God Highway and Sundown had the strength to tell them off, and Sundown called for the entrance man to throw them out. Other than that, it was a lovely evening, no thanks to my dates."

"Well, I'm glad you had a nice evening this time around," Cindy said. "So, what's on your agenda for today?"

"Well," Valerie said, "I was going to keep this to myself, since it was a small project, but I need to explain this to tell you about a personal project. Paul Quinette from JEWEL-FM radio had just accepted a commercial promoting their station when he and Melissa Shores were over at my house yesterday. Just before they left, they joked that I should send them a radio play for their drama show they hold every Sunday night. And I thought about it in my sleep last night, and I think I'll get started on it. Maybe bask in the sun in my backyard while I'm at it. Thank God my laptop can also run cordless."

They talked a little while longer before Valerie decided to call Elise next. She took the phone book down again, and searched through the "O" section. She found the name O'Malley, but there were at least nine of them listed. She was confused and asked herself, "God, which one is Longarm?" She looked, but couldn't find any "L" name, then, "Crap, that's right! Longarm is a code name!"

She searched again, and managed to find the listing, _O'Malley, Patrick & Elise_. "Bingo!" She dialed their number, but got a recording in Longarm's voice: "Hi, this is Longarm O'Malley and family. Sorry we can't come to the phone, but if you leave your name and number at the beep, we'll be happy to get back to you."

She was inwardly glad that she dialed the right house, anyway. "Elise! Elise, it's Valerie. Listen, I just called so we could converse outside of work. Anyway, when you get this message, please give me a call back. I may be outside enjoying the sun when you get in, so if you don't get me on my real phone, try me on my cell, you have the number. I'd love to hear from you. Bye." Just in time to hear the "end message" beeping.

"Must be at church," she said to herself. "I'm guessing they're a devout Irish Catholic family."

She looked out the window again, and decided to go out now, but not for a tan. She changed into a blue bikini top and a pair of white jean shorts. She went into the dining room and stared at her laptop. Suddenly, she was thinking of all the plays she'd listened to on JEWEL-FM on these nights, when she was with Rhonda and Richard, and the radio plays she'd listened to when she pregnant and alone years ago. It was enough inspiration to start one of her own just for the station. She took the laptop out with her.

* * *

Late that evening, Valerie had typed fifteen pages of radio script, a comedy. She loved how her story was shaping up, a young pregnant police widow deciding to get back in the social scene, dodging criticism from family members of other fallen officers in the city. She'd been trying to make the dialogue as humorous as possible. Nothing to mirror her depressing and painful past, and she especially didn't want to think of what she went through with her many romances. 

Her concentration was suddenly interrupted when she heard of the sound of small rocks being thrown at her living room window. She thought it was a troupe of bratty young boys, and ignored it. Minutes later, she kept hearing the sound repeatedly, and thought it would damage the window. She went to the front door to warn off whoever was doing it, and saw something quite unexpected.

Bowzer was standing on her front lawn with Blitz. She could see the robotic dog's metallic exterior, and hear his bark.

"Bowzer!" she exclaimed. "Bowzer, what the hell are you doing on my lawn? Was that you throwing rocks?"

Instead of answering, he walked up to her and pulled her out onto the porch. He looked like he'd been kept awake thinking about her. He kissed her like he needed to possess her, and said, "Oh, Valerie, just when I was about to scream your name, you answered!"

"God, why didn't you just ring the doorbell?" she demanded. "Those rocks almost put holes in my window. And why do you look like that, all desperate? You look like you drank a whole pot of coffee. And that impromptu kiss, how much saliva are you trying to give me?"

"Valerie, I know!" Bowzer told her. "I know what you've been up to this week."

"I was just wondering the same thing," she replied. "You haven't called since that time we took Blitz for a walk. I assumed you were busy." She thought of her radio play then, and excused herself. She saved it on her computer, but just as she was shutting it down, she saw Bowzer had walked in towards her. Before she could speak, he gave her another kiss out of desperation.

"Good Lord, what are you doing?" she cried when she broke away. "Are you crazy?"

"Crazy for you, my darling," he said. "And I've been going crazy spending my nights without you." With that, he locked the door himself, grabbed her arm, took her from the house to his car. Outside, Blitz had been yapping excitedly, and Bowzer opened the back door for her before putting Valerie in shotgun.

When they got to his house, she looked both annoyed and unimpressed at him. "Okay, Bowzer, what's up with this?" she asked. "You could have just called me and said, 'Please come over to my house, Valerie. We need to talk.'" She undid her seatbelt and stepped out.

After removing their shoes, he took her directly into the living room, and sat her down on his sofa. The desperate, needy look in his eyes frightened her a little, and he wouldn't let her speak first.

"Valerie," he said, "I don't know how much more of this I can take. First, you let Jeremy go off on Barricade's vacation. Then I had to be there as Big Boss and his gang got arrested on your date with Mace. Do you know how devastated I got when I found out you were in there with HIM! Last night, I was pounding on your door, screaming your name in the night air, disturbing the peace! Only your neighbors told me you weren't home. You should've seen me, I nearly broke down on your doorstep, crying, because I couldn't talk to you, because I thought you'd gone out with another one of my team members! And then this afternoon, as I was ending a day shift, Sundown and Highway came in to tell me that you were at the White Apple Palace with both of them last night. _Both _of them, Valerie! And where the hell does that leave ME!"

Valerie immediately became upset by the speech. "Why are you lamenting like this to me?" she asked.

He took her hands, holding them tighter than Valerie liked to handle. "Valerie, I'm sorry if I became too busy with my work to call you. But when you force me to spend my free nights alone because you're out with someone else…" His voice trailed off as he got choked up and began to cry. "Valerie, I get so lonely! And for the past two nights, I had to come back here to this empty house and cry, wondering what you're doing with whomever you're with! I had to wonder what I was doing wrong!"

"Bowzer, I–" she began.

"Valerie, you're all I ever think about!" He ran his fingers through her hair, then softly touched her cheeks. "I dream of the day I can touch your soft cheeks, flowing with scarlet. I've dreamt of you all through the night when I couldn't speak to you. Do you realize this?"

"Bowzer, you know I love you," she said. "I love you like I do the others."

"You tell me you love me, you show me you love me," he told her, "and yet, you're carving out your heart to give to my colleagues, and leaving me with the leftovers. This isn't fair, Valerie! You showering the others with all your attention while you leave me out in the cold. Leaving me with the short end of the stick! Do you think of me when you're with the others?" He clutched his hands onto her shoulders. "Do you think of me ever?"

Valerie couldn't answer him, just stare at his despairing face, and she was feeling uncomfortable. "Bowzer, you're scaring me," she said. "Look, I'm sorry if I've made no attempt to call you, but must you resort to these measures?"

"What other way is there?" he asked. "Valerie, that plaque I bought for you for your birthday, remember that engraved poem? There's a reason why I was the one who bought it. I read that poem, and all the lines represent all my thoughts of you. My love for you is so strong, it can knock out all the crooks of the world in one blow! You are the original Mother Earth, my starship. You _are_ the moonshine in my life, and my world _is _dark without you! Can't you see that? Can't you see that your decision is right in front of your face!"

She became dismayed, and got up from the couch. "Okay, you know what, Bowzer? This 'despairing Casanova' act, it's creeping me out." She stepped around the coffee table. "If Jeremy were here in the city, and you made him come here with us just to witness this, he'd change his mind about you quick. You think he'd want to see his mother being made to love someone? Please take me home." She started for the kitchen, but he grabbed onto her arm.

Blitz, who had been standing quietly, was now growling at her feet.

"You're not leaving me!" Bowzer insisted. "I came over to your place to bring you here for a reason. I want you here with me tonight."

"Bowzer, as much as I'd love to, I have to be at work in the morning."

"Then I'll take you back in the morning, and I'll take you to your office. But I must be with you tonight. Please, Valerie? I'm sorry if I'm frightening you, but I love you more than you seem to realize." He kissed her softer, repeatedly. "Oh, Valerie, tell me what I have to do to win you. I can't deal with this anymore."

"I don't know what to say," she confessed. "You surprise me by showing up at my house unannounced, then you bring me here without telling me. Mind you, it's pretty nice. But, again, you're scaring me."

"I don't want to scare you," Bowzer told her. "I don't want to hurt you. I know that's not what love is. I just want you to know that until I saw you, I felt like there was something missing in my life. And when I see less of you than the others, I feel like you don't love me."

"Bowzer, again I say, I do love you–"

"Then show me! Prove to me that you love me like you do the others. Let me hold you until my arms feel weak! Let me kiss you all over until there is no place left! Let us make passionate love until all our strength is gone!"

"For God's sake, slow down! I know you don't intend to scare me, but you are!"

He picked her up off her feet, and carried her in his arms to his bedroom. He laid her softly on his bed and unbuttoned her blouse. "Oh, baby, everyone says you have a lovely body. And with a tan like that… oh, but you are a goddess. You always have been." He removed her shorts and felt the cotton of her panties.

"Bowzer, please," Valerie started to beg.

"Valerie, it's not what you think it is," Bowzer said. "What kind of man do you think I am? There's a difference between raping a woman and making her love a man." He kissed the cleavage around her bikini top.

"Bowzer, you don't know how strong you're coming on to me," she said.

He stared at her face, and brought himself back up, removing his own shirt. "I have to come on strong," he replied. "You aren't responding, you're looking helpless. And I don't see why I should take this anymore." He ripped off the tank top he wore underneath and landed on his back upon the bedspread.

Valerie sat up and stared at Bowzer's hairy chest. She started thinking of Sundown, and thought _his _chest looked something similar. Still, she began to run her fingers through it, and suddenly, her fears began to diminish.

"Oh, but you like this feeling, don't you?" he asked, and grabbed her arms. "Then why don't you kiss me like you touch me? And then maybe we'll get under the covers, and be passionate like I feel for you." Soon, he put his arms around her and pushed her down towards him, his chin on the top of her head.

"Oh, Valerie, I don't think of you as a slut, but why don't you make it for me like you do the others?" he said. "If you can fall deeply in love with Mace, Sundown, Highway and Barricade, then you can fall deeply in love with me. I want to be on that level, too. And then maybe you can take me higher, and leave the others to deal with themselves. Let them find love of their own while we make it together." With that, he tossed her upon the bedspread, removed her bikini top, and began to kiss on and around both her breasts.

Valerie couldn't say anything during the lovemaking. She was thinking about why Bowzer would bring her to his house just to beg for more attention, and become sexual with her. _How desperate is he?_ she thought. _Only a Neanderthal would act this way_.

He looked up at her face, concerned by her silence. "Why aren't you saying anything? Talk to me. Oh, but you've got to tell me how you feel."

"Uncomfortable," she confessed. "Look, I understand if you want more attention, but couldn't you find a better way to get your point across? Why this way? No movie, no music, no drinks, let's just fuck. This isn't how a date should go. Bowzer, please stop this!"

"I didn't bring you here for a date," he replied. He started to take the rest of his clothes off. "I brought you here for an intervention. Don't you understand, I've just got to have you, and I'm not letting you get away that easily. I'm tired of having to sit quietly by while you give the other men all your attention." Finally, he removed her panties. "And if that didn't make you change your mind, maybe this will."

He opened her legs and stuck himself into her. She screamed out at the pain, the sudden quickness of the act, but he soon silenced her through a rough kiss on her lips. He slammed his body onto hers, and screamed her name over and over, then muttered other things in a voice so low, she could barely hear between the sounds of bed springs, his moaning and panting, the constant slamming of bodies. She couldn't say anything; she felt Bowzer wasn't going to let her, and she also felt she couldn't take control.

"Oh, Valerie," he moaned. "Valerie, I love you, can you see it now? Oh, please tell me that you love me back. I need to hear it from you. I can't bear to be here alone, without you."

But she couldn't find the soul to tell him. She still couldn't comprehend the purpose of this "fake date." She knew Bowzer didn't want her just for her body. But she also knew her other lover C.O.P.S. wouldn't do this to her. What was she going to do now, she wondered.

* * *

Valerie couldn't say much to Bowzer the next morning, even when he was driving her to work. She hadn't lost the uneasy feelings of the night before. But she made herself concentrate on her work. Unfortunately, nothing was assigned to her that morning, so she kept working on her radio play, all the while watching out for something. But nothing came up. Thankfully, Elise invited her to the mall for lunch directly at noon. 

"I'd love to," she said. "You will not believe what Bowzer did to me last night. Oh, but I am still recovering."

Elise looked around in the hallway. There were a slew of people going to the lunch room. In Elise's car, she said, "Let's hit the nearest McDonald's. I need a comfort meal!"

"So, what happened?" Elise asked when she pulled out of her space.

"I was working on my radio play when I heard rocks being thrown at my window," Valerie said. "I thought it was some hoodlums doing it, so I went outside to tell them to stop, when lo and behold, there was Bowzer standing on my lawn. My God, you should've seen him. It was like he was hit with a bucket of water! You should've seen how madly he was kissing me on the lawn, it was as if he was going off to fight knowing he would never come home. He said he knew about my dates with the other C.O.P.S. – he said Sundown and Highway told him about the other night."

She mentioned everything he said to her at his house. "I told him to stop with the despairing act, he was practically scaring me away. But he wouldn't let go, it was as if he wanted me to embrace the fear, to scare me into choosing him over the others."

Elise still couldn't understand the story. "Why in the hell would he do something like that?" she asked. "Just because of the time you've been spending with Mace, Sundown and Highway? Just because you sent Jeremy on Barricade's trip?" She parked in a vacant space of the first McDonald's she saw. "Why doesn't he just say to you, 'Valerie, I need to talk about the time you've been spending with my colleagues. Let's go out for coffee.' Why these dramatics?"

"That's what I wanted to know," she said.

Inside, when they placed their orders and sat down, Valerie continued her story, telling about the despairing sex she and Bowzer had. "I'd never felt so dirty and used after sex in my life. He just felt so rough. Again, it felt like he was just trying to scare me into accepting his love. God, it's just like _Jane Eyre_ come to life, and he's definitely Rochester." She bit into her cheeseburger.

"Except there's no insane wife," Elise supplied.

Valerie sighed. "Well, I don't know what to do. If Longarm had done that to you while you were dating, how would you react?"

Elise sipped some of her coffee. "I'd tell him to call me as soon as he cools off, and avoid him at every step until he does. Thankfully, he's not like that at all."

Valerie thought about it for a moment, then said, "Yeah, I think I'll send him a personal e-mail about it as soon as I get back to the office. Thanks, Elise. Although, I'm just thinking what Mom and Rhonda and Karen will think about this. They'll probably tell me that Bowzer is no good for me." She sipped some Diet Coke.

When they arrived back at the agency, Valerie immediately went online, trying to reach the headquarters website, eager to e-mail Bowzer. She knew she shouldn't be doing something so trivial, but she was still waiting for another brief assignment meeting with a client. She looked at the time, and decided to approach the bosses at five after one, when they were indeed back from lunch.

In the middle of typing her message, she sighed and said to herself, "I really wish clients would use our extension numbers, so they can assign us something directly."

Just then, she heard her phone ring. "Oh, good. Hopefully, it's a client." But when she answered, she was shocked to see Whitney Morgan on the video screen.

"Ms. Morgan?" she asked. "Do you have any business for me?"

"None in advertising, Ms. Boston," Whitney replied. "But it's about last week's shooting death of your ex-husband."

Valerie started rubbing her stomach, the very thoughts of Tom making her ill once again. "What about it? Another news segment?"

"Actually, we're just starting to put together an exposé on it for our news program, _Eye on Empire City_," Whitney explained. "Our goal is for you to tell us all about what kind of man Tom Boston was in your life, your experiences, your conflicts – basically, some more insight on your marriage to him, and how Bulletproof Vess' team of C.O.P.S. has been helping you get over it. Judging by what you told me at the zoo parking lot that day, it seems that you suffered greatly in that marriage. We think the entire city should know exactly what went on, including the authorities."

"Are you sure? The only people I felt comfortable talking about Tom with were my family and those C.O.P.S. whom I'm in love with. And some of the C.O.P.S. didn't even want to hear about him."

"Ms. Boston, in case nobody ever told you, Sundown and Highway, the two members of C.O.P.S. who shot your husband, may be put under investigation for it. I know you may not feel comfortable airing your dirty laundry all over the city, but perhaps this could help the authorities see that this was as justified as claimed, and maybe an investigation won't be necessary."

Valerie nodded. "All right, I'll do it. When is the special scheduled to be aired?"

"We're looking at two weeks from tomorrow," Whitney answered. "September 15th. In addition to yourself, the C.O.P.S. who are involved with you, and your family, I would also like to interview your family doctor back in your old hometown, as well as the lawyer you had in your divorce."

"All right. I should have their business cards still, so I'll call them as soon as I get home."

When she hung up, she continued with her message, typing, _I honestly believe that you should keep from contacting me until you learn to control your passions and jealousies. As much as I love you, I want you to realize that what you're doing may drive me away forever. Please think about it, then call me. Yours, Valerie. _She clicked on Send, then it automatically went through Spellchecker. By the time it went through, it was already one o'clock. Mr. Lancer and Mr. Sussex should've returned from lunch by now. She saved and closed her document, then stopped by Lancer's office to see the door closed, so she knocked on it. She called, "Mr. Lancer? Mr. Lancer, it's Valerie!"

Mr. Sussex stepped outside his office. "Valerie?" he said. "Mr. Lancer is just wrapping up a meeting with a new client of ours. What's the problem?"

"Ugh, I'm beginning to wish I'd waited until today for that Jewel meeting," she griped. "Sir, I have had nothing assigned to me all day, no meetings that I've been called to, nothing. I've been working diligently on that radio play that Mr. Quinette supposedly wants for his station. Normally, I'm not like this, but I had to keep myself occupied–"

"Say no more, Valerie," Mr. Sussex declared. "I had planned to assign Kim Masterson to lead this one, but since you don't have anything yet…" He knocked on his partner's door and said, "Mr. Cobberson! Sir, it's George Sussex! I already have a project manager for your airline promo!"

Valerie smiled. At least this would help keep her mind off what happened last night, she hoped.

* * *

Valerie managed to get a ride home with Cindy. She explained what Bowzer had done to her, and her friend just shook her head. 

"I can't believe that," Cindy said. "It's not like a police officer to act _that_ demeaning in his off-time. I can't even fathom Blackbelt, or even Longarm, acting like that."

"Well, I already sent him an e-mail, telling him I want to cool it with him for a bit. Hopefully, he'll realize the err of his ways, and say sorry nicely. I mean, if he ever hopes to win my love."

The first thing Valerie did when she got home was look through her book of business cards for Dr. Susan Grenoble and Janet Lisbon's cards. She found both within the first few pages and called Janet first. After two rings, she saw a young blonde woman on the screen. Her secretary. "Janet Lisbon, Attorney at Law, may I help you?"

"Yes, I'd like to speak with Ms. Lisbon, please," Valerie replied.

"She's just on her way out, hold on." Seconds later, she saw Janet.

"Hello, Janet, this is Valerie," she said.

"Valerie?" Janet replied. "How have you been this summer?"

"Doing great!" Valerie said. "As you might know, I'm project manager at Lancer and Sussex, and I'm very successful. I'd tell you my track record except we'd be talking all evening. And you're probably just on your way out, aren't you? As for Jeremy, well, I've never seen him happier. He actually had lots of fun this summer." She cleared her throat. "Anyway, the reason why I called is, have you heard about what happened with Tom?"

"Yes, it was all over the news, on TV, the internet, everywhere here. I was a little surprised. And what's this business about you dating several law enforcers at the same time?"

Valerie blushed. "Yes, well, what can I say? I saw them, they saw me, and now they're all fighting for my hand. I've never felt this beautiful when I was dating Tom. Unfortunately, that's what I'm here to talk about. I've just learned that two of them might be put under investigation for Tom's death, and there's this reporter, Whitney Morgan, who wants to talk to me about my marriage on television. She also wants to interview you, too. Are you free to be in Empire City on the fifteenth of September?"

"I haven't made any appointments for that time," Janet replied, "and I'm in the middle of two cases that will be decided as late as next week. I can probably come to Empire City around the twelfth. Can you give me your e-mail address so I can let you know when I'll be available?"

Valerie gave her the addresses for both the master computer and her laptop, and said, "It'd be great if you could be here. I need to prove there was some justice in Tom's murder."

"Knowing him, indeed there was. I'll go put this in my calendar right away, then I'll contact my travel agent when I get home. Oh, and when I e-mail you, I'll also be asking for Ms. Morgan's address, so I can spell out some facts for her show. Hope to hear from you later."

Valerie hung up and called the clinic where Dr. Grenoble worked. But the receptionist who answered said, "I'm sorry, she just left for the day. Shall I have her call you tomorrow?"

She looked at Dr. Grenoble's card again. "No, I'll reach her at her home in a few minutes. This is important. Thanks, anyway. Bye."

She went downstairs to the freezer and took out two chicken pies. She put them in the oven, then called Dr. Grenoble's house. Luckily, she saw her image on the video screen.

"Hi, doctor, this is Valerie Boston calling from Empire City," she said.

"Valerie, hi," Dr. Grenoble said. "I hope you've been doing all right. How's Jeremy been?"

"I've never been better, really," Valerie answered. "Jeremy's away on a trip with one of my new boyfriends at the moment – yes, I have more than one – and since I moved into my new house, I've been leaving him with my sister, Karen, while I work. Luckily, Karen was able to have her family pediatrician take him as a new patient."

"That's excellent, Valerie," Dr. Grenoble said. "I'm so proud of you. So what's happening with you now?"

Valerie repeated everything she told Janet about Tom's shooting, and the news program she agreed to do. "Perhaps if you talk to Ms. Morgan about Jeremy's condition, and how Tom was responsible for it, maybe the officers who shot him will be able to get off for it."

"Yes, I heard about all that," Dr. Grenoble said. "It's not in my place to bring this up, but I read that the men who shot Tom Boston dead are also in love with you."

Valerie blushed again. "It happened at the spur of the moment. So, will you be able to come to Empire City on the fifteenth?"

"I'll try. I have other special needs children that see me every week. I suppose I can ask Dr. Badler to fill in for me in that time frame. He agreed to take over for me while I had my vacation time. If I can successfully arrange this, I'll send you an e-mail."

"That would be great." She gave her both her work and home e-mail addresses.

"Fabulous. So, you'll hear from me no later than the end of this week, all right?"

"I'd like that, doc."

When Valerie hung up again, she sat at the dining table and thought of who else she'd like to work with on her new project. She already asked Cindy before they left work, and she said yes. Perhaps Scott Onions. After all, he gave her the most credit for saving the Derm-Active project. And perhaps Stuart Abbott to direct the video. Matt Lynch was busy with another infomercial.

She activated her laptop and sent e-mail to Mr. Lancer and Mr. Sussex.

She seemed to have forgotten the previous night until eight o'clock that evening, when her phone rang. It was Karen calling. Valerie smiled, and picked up, her sister's image on the screen.

"Hi, Karen," she said. "What's up?"

"Just called to remind you that Jeremy's next appointment will be this Thursday, September third," Karen replied.

"That's great to hear," Valerie said, "because Barricade and Jeremy are coming home tomorrow. I told you that, didn't I? I'm expecting another call from Washington in a few minutes."

"Right." Then, another incident came to Karen's mind. "So, what's been happening with Bowzer? Ann, your next-door neighbor, called me to tell about him pounding on your door the other night. You said you were out with Sundown and Highway when we talked yesterday afternoon."

"Yes, and I made her keep that a secret when I talked with her. Meantime, you won't believe what he did to me last night." She told her the same story she told Elise and Cindy, and when she finished, Karen's mouth was hanging open, and she said, "Get the fuck out."

"I'm serious!" Valerie replied. "I kept telling him how uncomfortable and frightened he was making me, but he tried to convince me this was for our own good." She sighed. "God, I feel like such a gossip monger, telling everyone my personal romantic business."

"That's usually a sign of your lack of confidence," Karen said. "I'm calling Mom and we'll figure out a solution. But right now, I just want you to know that I no longer approve of Bowzer in your life."

"I sent him a message, saying we should cool it until he realizes the mistake he made."

"What's to realize? Nobody takes advantage of my baby sister and gets away with it. I'll surprise you." She immediately hung up, just in time for Valerie to get another call. The Sheraton in Washington, D.C. She was relieved when she answered and saw Barricade.

"Hey, sweetheart," he said. "Just calling to let you know that we have a 1:15 PM flight tomorrow. We expect to get in at around two-thirty."

"I'll definitely be at work then," she said. "Why don't you keep him at your house until I can pick him up?"

"All right," he agreed. Just then, she was able to see her son jumping in the background. Barricade turned away and smiled. "And speaking of which, someone here wants to talk to you." He went in the back, and Jeremy came to the phone.

"Hi, Mom!" he called

"Hello, sweetie," Valerie replied. "Are you having a good time with Barricade?"

"The… best,… Mom," he said. "Want to… hear… what… we… did… today?"

"Why don't you tell me when you get home tomorrow?" she suggested. "I want to hear everything. And Jeremy, I'm going to be at work when you arrive here tomorrow, so you'll be going to Barricade's place for the afternoon."

"Okay," he agreed. "So,… did… you… have… any… fun… while… we… were… gone?"

"Oh, I had a wonderful time. On Friday, Mace took me to the movies, and to a club for dancing. And Saturday night, Sundown and Highway took me to the White Apple Palace to hear some classic songs from all the really old musicals. We were all dressed up and everything. It was a lovely affair." She decided not to tell him about the harassment from Big Boss, the confrontation from her ex-in-laws, or what Bowzer did to her at his house. Jeremy was having so much fun, she saw. Hearing anything bad could spoil it for him.

* * *

"I really think that, if you want me to break it off with Bowzer for good," Valerie suggested, "you should only return these pink silk flowers he gave me." 

She had Polly, Rhonda and Karen over two evenings later, while Jeremy was out with his friends. They had Bowzer's pink bouquet, her birthday plaque, and the "doggy bank" he gave Jeremy, all out on the coffee table. All three of them had suggested that all the gifts be returned, but Valerie wanted to keep the plaque and the bank.

"Valerie," Karen said, "the only way to get someone out of your life for good is to return all the things he bought for you."

"Oh, but we can't return this plaque," Valerie insisted in a pleading voice. "It's much too nice a gift to return. Look how personal it is, with my name on it, and this lovely poetry." She gave it to her mother. "If I can no longer think of Bowzer when I look at it, I can at least think of Barricade, or Sundown, or somebody else."

Karen and Rhonda looked it over, and Rhonda said, "Well, I suppose this can stay." She pointed at the "doggy bank." "But that is the tackiest gift Jeremy could ever receive, and it should definitely go back."

"I don't know, Rhonda," Valerie said. "I think it looks kind of neat."

"Neat?" Karen repeated. "Val, are you on crack? Now, we were too polite to say anything then, but it's obvious Bowzer was only thinking of himself when he gave Jeremy that. Look at it, it's useless."

"Really, you're not going to give him a chance to use it?"

"Valerie, it shows that Bowzer doesn't understand very much about him, or his condition," Polly said. "Just what could Jeremy possibly do to earn money of his own? You kept telling me his Math marks on his report cards. He wouldn't understand the value of a dollar. And do you know what he did when I showed up for Christmas and his birthday with a check or paper money? He just stared at it as if to say, 'What's this, Grandma?' I know it's a new thing, and Jeremy just got it, but I know he would never use it. It would just sit in his bedroom, collecting dust."

"Besides, I don't think Jeremy will want it anymore once he hears what that man did to you," Rhonda added. "You never told him, did you?"

"Certainly not," Valerie said. "Stuff like that is a little too adult for him to hear. And it would only make him upset, confused, or both."

"I'll find some kid-friendly ways to tell him," Karen promised. "And I know the perfect way to confront him. After the doctor's appointment tomorrow, I'll stop by C.O.P.S. headquarters, throw all this shit in his face, then let him have it! He'll learn that there are proper ways to treat a lady."

Valerie sighed. "All right. The ugly 'doggy bank' goes back too."

"I knew you'd see it our way," Rhonda grinned. "And, Karen, make him refund the money for that, and give it to you. You look for something more useful for him."

* * *

Karen kept her promise the next day. When she and Jeremy left the doctor's office, she drove as fast as the speed limits allowed to C.O.P.S. headquarters. Jeremy didn't say anything; he was too confused when his aunt told him, "Bowzer took your Mom to his house Sunday night, then said some things to force her to love him, and did some naughty stuff to her afterwards. Your Mom said he was pretty scary to her." 

She found a vacant space closest to the entrance, and took Jeremy inside, along with a bag of the rejected gifts. She looked around for Bowzer, but couldn't see him anywhere, so she went directly to Bulletproof's office. She was still so angry, she banged on the door instead of knocking.

"Enter!" came Bulletproof's annoyed voice.

His expression immediately changed to surprise when he noticed Karen's vengeance. "Karen!" he cried. He suddenly remembered her, when she came to remind everyone of Valerie's birthday. "Uh, you shouldn't have knocked so hard on the door. What do you want?"

"I'm looking for Bowzer!" she spat. "Have you seen him?"

"I sent him out on assignment twenty minutes ago," Bulletproof replied. "There was report of a suspicious drug smuggling ring that he was just called to minutes ago. He should be back. Shall I tell him you and Jeremy were here?"

"No, I'll wait!" She started for the door, then suddenly turned back. "Ooh, that bastard! Did he ever tell you what he did to Valerie this Sunday night? She told me two-and-a-half days ago, and I'm still seething over it!" She sent Jeremy out and closed the door, sat down in a chair across from Bulletproof, revealed every grisly thing Valerie told her.

"Sir, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that what Bowzer did constituted as rape," she said. "If he loved her as much as he told Valerie, he wouldn't have pushed her like he did. He would've slowed down when she told him to. The mere fact that he wouldn't let her go home when she wanted to told me that he's way too controlling! And all this because he thought she was giving all her attention to the other guys! Excuse me, but I'm not going to allow my little sister to get involved with someone who gets jealous like that. Why, that incident is only the beginning of what'll happen in his long-term plans around her. Next thing you know, he won't let her talk to me or Rhonda, or even our mother. He'll be hard on Jeremy like Tom was! He'll–"

"All right, Karen!" Bulletproof interrupted. "Calm down! I'm sure Bowzer has a pretty good explanation for you. In fact, he should be back by now. Why don't you check?"

"Thanks," she said. "And just so you know, I won't be bringing him back in here. I want to confront him on my own."

She'd just stepped away from the door, when she spied Bowzer walking to his desk from afar. She angrily screamed his name, then, "There you are!"

She had startled all the C.O.P.S. present, but Mainframe, Longarm and Bullseye were the ones who restrained her as soon as she started to charge at the K-9 officer.

"You fucking piece-of-shit bastard!" Karen screamed. "I know what you did to my sister! My little sister! How dare you come on to her like a beast!"

"Please, Karen!" Longarm cried. "Let's just sit down and talk about this."

They all went to Bowzer's desk, and gave Karen a chair, told her to sit. She kept her arms tightly folded, to keep from attacking him.

"Now," Bullseye said, "exactly what did Bowzer that made you so upset?"

"Oh, good question," Karen replied, "and I'll keep the answer short and sweet." She pointed at Bowzer. "On Sunday night, _that_ man decided to pop over and scare Valerie into going over to his place–"

"I know what I did, Karen!" Bowzer interrupted. "And I know it was wrong! But I wasn't getting my fair share of her love, did she not tell you that! Why should Mace, Barricade, Highway and Sundown get all the fun with her in between her work, and I have to be left out?"

"First of all, _you_ weren't making enough time for _her_!" she barked. "Do you honestly think Valerie is going to sit by the phone all the time, waiting for you to call and ask if she wants to do something? Do you think she has nothing better to do than stay home every night, thinking you may come over? Listen, buster, it's _your _fault if you've gotten to busy with your work to even call her from your desk phone! And as busy as Valerie may get sometimes, she can still make time for herself and her romances. You don't seem to love her all that much if you can't make time for her!"

His colleagues could see that he was about to cry. "I do love her. She may not realize, but she's all I ever think about! She's all I ever _dream _about! I know seeing is believing, but–"

"But nothing!" Karen spat. "It's bad enough that you let your little beast partner rip my nephew's flesh off! But to kidnap my sister from her own home, keep her at your house against her will, then force her to have sex so rough that you actually hurt her, is deplorable!"

"_I'm sorry, all right!_" Bowzer screamed, then started to cry. "Valerie already sent me e-mail, saying she wants to give our love a break. And I can't even handle this. I've sent her replies, begging for another chance, but she won't answer me!"

"Well, I'll settle this for her!" Karen said. "I don't want you to see her anymore! Neither do Mom and Rhonda. Just before they left last night, I asked if they'd like to accompany me here, to help me confront you. They said no; they're too ashamed to even want to look at you! That's what they told me! So this little fling of yours with her is over, understand?"

She retrieved the pink bouquet he'd given Valerie and put it on his desk. "You can damn well find someone else to give that to!" She then pulled out the bank he'd given Jeremy. "And another thing, what the hell were you thinking giving Jeremy a bank? Do you really think he'd be able to handle money? Do you know _nothing_ about his condition? I'll have you know that Jeremy has never gotten an allowance – ever!"

Now Bowzer was insulted. "Well, Jeremy seemed to like it," he said. "He didn't say anything, he just smiled out of thanks."

"He was confused!" Karen shouted. "Mind you, everyone else was too polite to say anything then, but I could certainly tell Jeremy didn't know what to think of it. For one thing, Jeremy is too unstable and accident-prone to do many chores, and will never be able to do odd jobs when he gets older. Why, we won't let him even go near a lawn mower! So what do you think Jeremy can possibly do to earn money to put in this bank? Not only that, but this is also the ugliest thing I've ever seen!"

"Karen, you're being unreasonable!" Bowzer protested.

"I am not!" she insisted. "You obviously don't love Valerie as much as you claim if you fail to take some time out for her, resort to fearful force when you do, and don't think of her son enough to pick a useful gift for him. Find someone else to give your heart to! Stay away from Valerie!"

She took Jeremy and left the headquarters right away. Bowzer just sat still for a few minutes, then put his eyes on his arms to cry.

* * *

The next afternoon, after her meeting for her latest project, Valerie went back to her office to check her e-mail. She received the new mail she'd been expecting, from Janet Lisbon and Dr. Susan Grenoble, about their visit to Empire City. Both stated that they were flying in Friday night, on the eleventh, and while Janet said she planned to make hotel reservations, Dr. Grenoble said she had a sister she planned to stay with. 

Janet's e-mail had that same reminder about Whitney Morgan: _Please reply with Ms. Morgan's address as soon as you receive this, so I can give her the proper information she'll need for questioning about Tom Boston's parenting skills._

Valerie went online for the TV studio's website. She located Whitney's profile in the news section. She dragged her mouse to highlight and copy her e-mail address, and quickly replied to Janet. But before she could send it, she noticed she also had Dr. Grenoble's message open. She highlighted and copied her address and added it to Janet's in the _To_ line.

* * *

It was Tuesday morning, the first official day of school in Empire City. The sky was clear, and the weather was starting to cool as they were getting into fall. But it might have been a dark overcast with thundershowers where Bowzer was concerned. He had forced himself out of bed, as he did every morning since being told to stay away from Valerie. He had forced himself to focus on his police work, to avoid trouble with Bulletproof. He was starting to wonder when his next night shift would be. He could no longer stand having to lie awake during the lonely nights, wondering what might have been if he acted different. 

He'd been feeling a wide array of unhappy emotions; anger, depression, sadness, hurt. Regret over what he did to Valerie to make things this way. He was desperate to talk to her again. But she wouldn't pick up or return his messages when he called her at home. At half past noon that Tuesday, he called the Lancer and Sussex agency. Thank God Bulletproof kept it on the list of vendors.

"I need to speak with Valerie Boston, please?" he said.

"She just came in," said the receptionist filling in for Teresa, then he saw Valerie on the screen. "Hello?"

"Valerie!" he begged. "Valerie, I regret everything I did to you last weekend. I can't tell you how sorry I am. Oh, but I wish I could have you back. Every day, I have to force myself to move along when I'm working, but when I'm at home, I'm dragging myself." He began to sniffle. "Valerie, my days have been dark without you."

"Bowzer, that's so sweet," she said, "but I'm not the person you should be apologizing to now. You already apologized to me enough. It's my family that told me to leave you because of this."

"Oh, don't listen to what your mother and sisters have to tell you!" he cried. "Think for yourself, my darling. Have you been thinking of me lately?"

"I have, a bit."

"Then you can be woman enough to decide to take me back for yourself and Jeremy!"

"Bowzer, really, it's not me you should be begging for mercy. As it stands, if you really want me back, you'll have to convince Mom, Rhonda and Karen. And I think they're still pissed at you." Valerie gave him her mother's number, and he quickly jotted it down. "Good luck with her. I have this feeling you'll need it. You may be out of my life forever."

"Thank you, sweets. I love you." Bowzer hung up and dialed Polly Slamier's house. After two rings, he saw Polly's image, which he saw becoming shocked and angry.

"Bowzer!" she cried. "What the hell are you doing calling?"

"Mrs. Slamier?" he said. "I just want you to know how sorry I am about how I mistreated your daughter."

"Don't even bother!" Polly snapped. "Surely you realize Valerie is the most precious and fragile of my three daughters. She is like a flower that you trampled on, and while you never came close to Tom, what you did to her is still entirely unforgivable. You don't understand how badly you've blown it, do you? Now, if you don't stop contacting her or the family, I will see to it that your badge, guns and K-9 robot are forever revoked. Stay away from Valerie, you hear? Goodbye!" Then she hung up.

Bowzer slowly hung up his phone and began sobbing silently. Hardtop and Mainframe both saw this and went to him.

"It's all right," Hardtop said. "I know she's a very special woman, but–"

"I don't want to talk about it!" Bowzer insisted, then the other two C.O.P.S. went back to their spaces, leaving him to cry.

* * *

That Friday night, Valerie was out on another "threesome date," this time, with Mace and Barricade. They were in the middle of a "glow bowling" game, just started the fifth frame. Valerie just scored a spare, now it was Mace's turn. Smiling, she went back and talk with Barricade. 

"I'm still shocked that you and Bowzer called it off," Barricade said.

"How's he taking it?" she asked.

"He's just starting to come around," he answered. "Last night, Highway and Hardtop took him out to some speed dating event, and he–" Suddenly, they were interrupted by Mace's victorious scream; he'd just scored another strike, a perfect game so far. Barricade coughed and returned to Valerie. "He met some nice women, though he didn't really get very many numbers."

"He still thinks about me, doesn't he?"

They saw Mace coming back, and he said, "Check it out, five strikes in a row. See if you can do that!"

Barricade got up for his turn, and Valerie kissed Mace as he sat down. She was dancing her seat to a rock music beat, and said, "I think I found the secret to what helps you concentrate. Your favorite music."

"Yeah, but just wait until they start playin' some crappy pop ballad," he said. "I'll be too irritated to concentrate."

They looked up to see Barricade play his second ball. He had just knocked down nine pins. He rolled, and it just missed the last pin. He sighed as he returned to the waiting area, but before Valerie took her turn, she asked, "So, is everyone looking forward to the TV interview with Whitney Morgan on Tuesday?"

"You ain't nervous, are ya?" Mace asked. "Sweetheart, youse ain't got nothin' to worry 'bout. This is yer chance to tell all of Empire City what a jerk yer ex-husband was."

"I'm absolutely positive this will be successful with a strong support system behind you," Barricade assured. He took both her hands. "You know you're right in your idealistic views. You're very lucky to have parents and siblings and some relatives who understand and share these views. And you also have a group of authorial men who love you and your son deeply, who understand your son's special needs, and who are willing to be as idealistic as you. Believe me, we can show a doubting world how a father raises a mentally challenged son properly."

"Thank you," she said. "I feel so much better." She kissed Mace for five seconds, but kissed Barricade for what seemed to be a minute. Suddenly, Valerie felt a tapping on her shoulder, then noticed Mace pointing at the score screen. She looked up and gasped. She saw the words _Slow Bowler_ and the "waiting" time ticking off past the one-minute mark.

"Shit!" she whispered, then rushed to take a bowling ball. She rolled it down the lane quickly yet carelessly, and it leaned to the right, taking out the four right pins.

"Jesus, that conversation could've waited until after," she muttered to herself. Valerie took another ball, focused on the head pin. But just as she was about to throw, she heard the familiar shrieking of her name. The ball went out of her hands, and crashed into one of the seats behind Barricade. Valerie turned and saw a familiar-faced woman; she noticed her orangy-red hair in the colored lights that fell upon it. She was wearing a white blouse and grey pants. She was with several girlfriends, who wore similar outfits, it looked like. Valerie couldn't stop staring at the familiar woman as she went to get her ball.

"Valerie!" she said. "It's me, Nancy from work. Fancy meeting you here. Funny, but you don't look like the type to enjoy bowling."

"Well, I'm on a date, and we're hitting Electric Fruit afterwards," Valerie answered.

Nancy looked at Mace and Barricade, then at Valerie again. Valerie said, "Yes, I'm with both of them. What, it's a free country, I'm an adult, and both those guys asked me out together."

"Oh, so you share a pool with one, a Jacuzzi with the other, and now you're dating both on the same night?" Nancy asked, then grinned. "Do I see a _real_ threesome tonight?"

Valerie threw her ball down the lane, and it hit five more pins. "That's none of your damn business, and if you tell anyone at work, I'll make sure that Lancer and Sussex fire you." She returned to Barricade, watching Mace bowl.

"One of the gossipy girls from work?" Barricade asked.

"I'm betting on it," Valerie said. "I've never heard any accusations from her, though she has called me a slut on occasion. I'm wondering if she has any kids of her own, and if she's one of _those_ mothers. One thing I do know, she'll listen to gossip coming from anyone."

"That's another advantage of Tuesday's interview," Barricade said as he got up for his turn. "Maybe if they see how much in love you are with us, all this gossip will stop." He kissed her lightly.

"I hope so," she said. "But somehow, I doubt it."


	25. Valerie Bares Her Marriage

**Author's Note:** Okay, here's the moment you've all been waiting for. And to make up for the delay, I'm dedicating this whole chapter to the interview. Read, review and enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 25

It was Tuesday, the fifteenth of September. Valerie's most important evening of her life, probably. She was determined to prove that her ex-husband did not deserve to live. She was mostly counting on Janet Lisbon and Dr. Susan Grenoble to help by explaining Tom's behavior's during the divorce proceedings, and how his anger in general caused Jeremy's condition. She said to herself while showering that morning, "Maybe everyone at work will leave me alone about Tom once they understand that Jeremy's wild behaviors were all his fault."

She'd been avoiding Kim Masterson and her snide remarks for the past three weeks. Remarks like, "Too bad about your husband, he was a much better parent than you ever gave him credit for." Or, "Why didn't you at least give your son to Tom temporarily, while you took parenting classes?" And, "Face it, if you hadn't used your son's condition to act all nilly willy, he'd probably still be alive. Most single mothers would want someone like him in their homes." Today, Kim was in the lunch room with most of the staff as Valerie walked in to make her announcement.

"Attention all staff, especially the firm parents among you," she said. "Tonight, I will be on ECTV with this city's most famous newslady, Whitney Morgan. We will be discussing my former husband, his behavior that caused me to leave him and get protection, my son's disabilities, and the shooting incident that killed Tom. I encourage everyone to watch and listen to what must be said, including testimonies from my former pediatrician and lawyer in Indiana. I pray that this will give you some insight about what kind of man Tom Boston really was, and help you see through the 'disciplinarian' side of him. Thank you."

The whole room was silent as most gave disinterested looks, as if they were students she couldn't get to help decorate the halls for a school dance. Finally, Kim remarked, "I still think your ex-husband was only doing his job as a parent, and his actions were justified."

Valerie just ate her lunch quickly. The comments bothered her, but she refused to start a fight.

* * *

Longarm and Elise had volunteered to look after Jeremy while Valerie and her family were away. But before dropping him off, she quickly changed into something more appropriate for television. Maybe the same blue and purple blouse she wore on her first date with Barricade, and the green velvet skirt she wore to her job interview in Empire City. She decided to add the jewelry that Sundown and Highway gave her for her birthday, to add to her striking look, and show her appreciation for their love. 

As she was dropping him off, she instructed the O'Malley's, "Please don't let Jeremy or Brian watch the _Eye on Empire City_ show tonight. Especially not Jeremy. I'm afraid he'll get all emotional hearing about his father, and some it may be a bit too mature for him to hear."

Longarm promised, "Don't worry, we'll tell our son. We're just sitting down to dinner, and after Brian finishes his homework, we'll think up something to do. Now that I think of it, I don't think they'll be watching any TV tonight. Wouldn't be a good idea."

Bart and Karen were chauffeuring her that evening, taking her out to dinner at Family Choices, along with the other friends and family who were going to be on TV with her. She met the four remaining C.O.P.S. outside, and was partially disappointed. It was official, Bowzer was gone.

They sat at a long dais-like table in the dining room area of the restaurant, and Valerie was flattered when Sundown and Highway offered for her to sit between them.

"God, but I can't git over how lovely ya look tonight," Sundown said when they started eating. "I'm guessin' yer tryin' to radiate y'self on TV, ain't ya? Or maybe yer showin' how much you love me." He touched her neck and the jewels, but Valerie quickly took his hand away.

"Not in public!" she whispered. "People will stare, and any kids will laugh, point and cat-call."

"Besides, it's really my love she's showing off," Highway said. "She's wearing the bracelet I gave her." Sundown looked at her wrist and frowned.

"Hey, not only am I showing off my love for _both_ of you," Valerie corrected them, "but if I'm going to be on TV defending my child-rearing, I have to look serious, yet flashy. That also explains my outfit. All eyes have to be on me when the camera is."

"I ain't ever seen ya look so colorful," Mace said, sitting across from her. "Can't believe you'd get all decked out like that just to appear on TV."

"Are you saying I overdid myself?" Valerie asked.

"Nah, you look just lovely," Mace assured her. "If anyone deserves to stand out, it's you. I'm sure people will pay a lot of attention to ya." He kissed the back of her hand.

She smiled and gasped, her mouth hanging open. "Okay, that has to be the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me," she said. But she refrained from kissing him. It was one thing if she brought her chair closer to kiss him, but to lean across the table to do so would be embarrassing.

It was close to seven o'clock by the time they got to the TV station. There, Valerie reunited with Janet and Dr. Grenoble. "So glad you're here," she told them. "I don't know what I'd be able to do if you weren't here most of all."

"I'm just glad you have a lot of emotional support with you," Janet said. "But expertise will be more important in this show, I know, and maybe your personal group of nay-sayers will start to understand you once they hear what this good doctor and I have to say."

Valerie thought of dealing with Social Services in the past, the times they took Jeremy away, and she asked Janet, "Have you been able to talk to the social worker who dealt with us back in Indiana?"

"In between the cases I had and giving Ms. Morgan information for this, I'm afraid I haven't had time," Janet answered. "But I'm sure that she knows about Tom's death. When I contacted Child Protective Services to ask about the social worker who kept putting Jeremy in foster homes, they gave me her name – Pamela Warner. They told me she was living in another part of this very state. I told you I wrote to her, and never got a reply. Naturally, I assumed she was reluctant to testify with Tom in the courtroom. So I don't think she'd want to, anyway. I'm guessing she was so sick of him, he's not her favorite thing to talk about. Can't blame her, either."

Suddenly, they saw Whitney Morgan standing before the guests, dressed in a red turtleneck and pink slacks with white heels. Valerie stared at the turtleneck, believing the weather was too warm.

Whitney smiled and said, "Hello, everybody. I'm so glad you could all be here for tonight's _Eye on Empire City_. Now, if you'll follow me, we can you all done in makeup."

They walked past the set for the show, and Valerie stopped to examine it. The seats were arranged in a rectangle, and they looked like sofas and easychairs Karen had in her inventory. Whitney's single-seated chair on the left, and a two-cushioned seat, reserved for Janet and Dr. Grenoble on the right. In between them, there were two large sofas, both with five cushions, across from each other. One reserved for Valerie and her beaux, the other for her mother, sisters and brothers-in-law. She thought it was a nice arrangement. And suddenly, she saw Karen walking back to her. She said, "Come on, Valerie, don't dawdle. Everybody's waiting for us." Valerie nodded and followed her sister.

In the makeup room, both Valerie and Rhonda opted to put makeup on by themselves. They told the crew, "It's something we have to do every day before work. We think we can master this." It wasn't much; they covered their faces with skin foundation, applied rouge to their cheeks, one layer of blue eye shadow and mascara, and different lipsticks they carried with them. Valerie had pink, Rhonda had red.

During the meeting, the producer was giving everyone a "pep talk." Valerie didn't feel she had to pay attention, she knew how she should conduct herself on TV. Just like in a meeting, she mostly had to speak when instructed or spoken to, and watch her language most of all. She'd promised herself all this on the way to dinner. She couldn't afford to embarrass herself this evening.

After she'd used the washroom, she went back to the set and observed Whitney's chair. Logically, they were going to make her sit close to Whitney, so Valerie went to the far sofa and sat at the closest edge. She wasn't wearing a watch, and there was no clock around. So she decided to just daydream until every seat was full. She'd dreamed of her romance with Tom years ago, before she'd gotten pregnant. Her wedding didn't cost too much, but it was the "fairy tale" ceremony every girl dreamed of. The church was small, and they could only afford enough decorations for every pew. She thought of the bridal bouquet she made, with the white and purple silk lilacs. The centerpieces for her reception that she made with her mother, sisters, aunt and cousins, the bowls filled with colorful silk rose petals, with a single paper daisy in the middle of each one. Tom and Valerie's honeymoon on the Portuguese coastline. That only home they had while they were married, and all the trips and parties they went to, where they always managed to mix business and pleasure as if they were making a smoothie.

How could a love so blissful and promising turn so hellish with the birth of a child?

Suddenly, she was brought out of her fantasy by a pair of man's arms wrapping around her. She turned to see Highway sitting beside her, with Sundown beside him, then Barricade, then Mace. Highway kissed her neck and asked, "You okay? You looked like you were lost in limbo."

"Oh, I was just thinking of how Tom and I used to be, when it was just the two of us," Valerie told him. "Oh, but he was so caring, I was so sure that he really loved me. How then, could he really not want Jeremy?"

She looked at her beaux, and they were all glaring at her question instead of answering. She was glaring at them back. "Oh, come on! You were able to talk about him when you told Whitney Morgan about protecting Jeremy and me. Is that how you're going to act when she asks about your feelings towards Tom?"

"Valerie!" Polly snapped when her family sat on the other sofa. "Don't talk to them like that! You know they're that sensitive when it comes to Tom, and I don't blame them! I am, too!"

"Mom," Rhonda said. "You can't be that sensitive to avoid talking about him. And they can't, either." She leaned in closer. "I think some reputations could be lost here if this fails."

After about half an hour, and some last minute pep talks, Whitney sat down in her chair, cue cards in hand, prepared for the show to start. Valerie looked back at the remaining empty seat, and tried to find Janet and Dr. Grenoble. She could barely see them from off the set. She leaned in to Whitney and whispered, "Ms. Morgan, I'm curious, when are my former doctor and lawyer going to be out here? Around the third segment?"

"Just as soon as we get some insight from you, your family and especially your men," Whitney replied. "And by the way, you can call me Whitney." Valerie smiled

Soon, the floor director called, "Quiet on the set! Cue lights!" Then, the countdown from five, the theme music, and Whitney introducing herself. She began by saying boldly about Valerie, "Our guest of honor this evening came to Empire City from a smaller city in Indiana called Parrish, not only for advancements in her advertising career, but also to escape an abusive husband in attempt to protect her differently-abled child. Despite a salary big enough for her to raise her son without the help a new boyfriend, she chose to fall in love with several members of the Central Organization of Police Specialists. Three weeks ago, she was confronted by her former husband, which resulted in two of her lovers from C.O.P.S. shooting him dead. Now, in this controversy, she strongly believes that these actions were not police brutality. Please welcome Valerie Boston, along with the C.O.P.S. in her life, Highway Harlson, Sundown Calhoun, Mace Howards and Barricade Hide." One camera robot was focused on Valerie and her men, while the other was on her family. "Also with us are her family, her mother, Polly Slamier, and her sisters and their husbands, Rhonda and Richard Shewfelt, and Karen and Bart Lorimar."

Karen was wincing at her husband when Whitney introduced the C.O.P.S. She couldn't say it, but she thought that use of code names with surnames was expressively weird.

Whitney began by asking Valerie, "Now, Valerie, I've seen more than enough evidence from those around you that your marriage turned sour when you revealed your pregnancy. Can you tell me what it was like before?"

"Whitney, my romance with Tom was like something out of those non-trashy novels," Valerie answered. "We met in college as ambitious career people. He was in the Business Administration program, while I was in Advertising Arts. I think our love of business was what made us fall in love so quickly. Needless to say, that was the same love that won my parents' approval of him. We married about a couple of years after we graduated, just as we were getting established in our careers, and those were the best times. We spent our summer holidays traveling – South America, the Mediterranean, Australia and Japan, mostly. And we were popular figures at all the business parties."

"How early into the marriage did you and Tom start discussing children?" Whitney asked.

"I believe you mean, 'How early into the marriage did your family start nagging you about children?'" Valerie laughed. Her family was laughing a bit, too. When they calmed down, "It was no sooner than Tom and I got settled into our new home, that my parents started asking us when we would have children. Rhonda already had her daughter, Sarah, and weren't you also pregnant with Nicole at that time?"

"I think I'd just found out, yes," Rhonda said when the camera robot quickly turned on her.

"Yes, and I also had a child, my older son, Sheldon," Karen added, "and a newborn son, Drew."

Valerie continued. "Mom and Dad believed I shouldn't be any different. And since I'd already grown to love Sarah and Sheldon, I thought maybe I'd like to try for one of my own."

"What did your husband say about it?"

"He never wanted any children. Tom said that he had plans to expand his recreation store, to finally put up chains all over the state of Indiana, plans that his father said he would like to see while he was still alive. Tom told me those kinds of expansions involved a lot of money, and that we shouldn't put any of it towards another human being. He added that lots of couples were choosing to remain childless these days, and that children were just an inconvenience that complicated life plans. The only good thing out of it was that he encouraged my career. Of course, being that he was an only child, there was also that bit from his father about how he didn't care for grandchildren." Valerie rolled her eyes, remembering that confrontation with Earl Boston at the White Apple Palace.

"Now, I'd like to ask your mother some things," Whitney said, then turned to Polly, the camera focusing on the older woman. "Did your ex-son-in-law actually tell you that he didn't want to give you grandchildren? And if so, how did you feel about it?"

"Yes, he voiced his refusal to have a child," Polly said. "And, no, my husband and I weren't about to sit back and take it. In my heyday, married partners who remained childless by choice were seen as yuppie snobs who hated children. I still think that today. We knew this was not true of Valerie, and we refused to believe this about Tom. When he told us his plans, we told him that he didn't need to do all of that. We liked him well enough as a one-store businessman, and he would do better if he settled down and had a child with Valerie."

"How did he react?" Whitney asked.

"He started to get very stubborn," Polly said. "He said that we didn't understand his goals and dreams. He started talking about achieving lots of wealth and power, hiring lots of staff, retiring at forty-five, maybe fifty, and owning a large yacht. Things that his father couldn't achieve when he was growing up. We told him he had such unrealistic goals.

"When my husband and I were raising our girls, our idea of the American dream was to keep the family sheltered, fed, clothed and educated. Just the basic things in life. I stressed to my girls the importance of working out of home, even as married mothers, as I taught them that feminism was all about equality to men. But I sure as God made me did not raise them to be spoiled, materialistic women who strive for all the wealth! It's a shame that Tom obviously learned that."

Whitney turned back to Valerie and asked her, "How long was it before you started yearning for a child?"

"It was after Rhonda gave birth to her son, Caleb," Valerie answered. "At this time, some of the younger cousins were having kids of their own, too, and even my aunts and uncles were breathing down my neck for me to have one myself. I was more than willing, and I really started to feel like I was missing out, but Tom still wouldn't budge. He was still making me take birth control pills and use condoms. So what I did was I waited a few months, then secretly went off control, and destroyed all the condoms."

"Why didn't you tell your husband?"

"Simple, because I knew he would stop having sex in anger, and scream at me about breaking our agreement. Except I don't ever remember agreeing to remain childless by choice. I mean, my God, I told him about Sarah and Sheldon, and that Mom and Dad would be wanting more grandchildren." Valerie could now feel her voice squeaking a bit. "He said those kids didn't matter, and that my sisters and brothers-in-law were dealing with heaping bills and monthly payments they couldn't afford, all because of them. He said that I didn't have to be like them. As for my parents, he added that adult children were not obligated to give their parents grandchildren just because they 'demand' them!" She started to sob now. "He actually said that my beloved parents were demanding!" She began to weep and wail onto Highway's body, and the rest of the C.O.P.S. crowded around her to group-hug her.

This concerned Whitney, and she turned back to Polly. "Did Tom actually say this to you?"

"He did, that arrogant – oh, I can't say it on public television!" Polly seethed. "He said it in the same argument as us not understanding what he wants! Unbelievable that he'd have the audacity to say such a thing! Where did he get such horsewash? From the opinion columnists in the newspapers who write about the trends and affairs of young people? I've read those columns; when they get negative about something like this, they have the attitude that says, 'I'm the only sane and correct person in the world, and anyone who disagrees with me is entirely wrong.' I tend to not buy garbage like that. I'm really sorry, miss, but those kinds of things burn me to nothing else."

Whitney observed Valerie, who was still crying, and said to the camera robot, "We'll be taking a commercial break, and when we return, we'll delve into Valerie's pregnancy and her experiences as a married parent. Stay tuned."

When they went off air for commercials, Whitney called to some stagehands, "Somebody get a box of tissues for Valerie Boston!" They came back with a fresh, newly-opened box and an end table to put in between Valerie and Whitney's chairs. Whitney gave her the box, and she took a tissue. She quickly wiped her tears away to see her mascara had run so much. She was thankful no eye shadow came off. She sniffled, then blew her nose.

"Are you okay, Valerie?" Whitney asked. "Do you need some water?"

Valerie took a few deep breaths as Sundown was holding her now. "No, that's all right," she said. She handed her used tissue to a stagehand for the trash. "I should be fine for now."

Before she sat back down, Sundown said to her, "Now you see why I won't talk to you 'bout yer husband, Valerie? I know it makes ya upset an' cryin' like this."

"Well, now I'll have to force myself to keep under control, won't I?" she replied. "The worst is yet to be covered, and Whitney will be asking _you_ some things about him, won't you?" But just as Whitney was about to answer, the floor director yelled for quiet again. Then the theme music signaled the end of commercials.

"Welcome back to _Eye on Empire City_, " Whitney said to the camera robot. "We're focusing on and talking with Valerie Boston, an advertising manager who escaped a tumultuous marriage to Empire City, which led to romances with the members of C.O.P.S. seen with her, who confronted and eventually gunned down her ex-husband." She looked at Valerie again. "So, Valerie, we're now a few years into the marriage after experiencing some conflict about children. You've decided yourself to try for a baby. I won't ask if you managed on the first try, but how far along were you before you learned you were pregnant?"

"Around eight, maybe nine weeks," Valerie answered. "It was a week before Christmas when I learned from my doctor. Luckily, Tom was at work when I found out, so I managed to keep my face straight for the next several days, and I told him just a few days before Christmas, as an early gift."

"Did he have any suspicions?" Whitney asked.

"No, surprisingly, I never had any nausea during the opening trimester, although Tom noticed that I was eating more than normal."

"And how did he react when you told him?"

Valerie paused and took few short breaths before answering. "You have no idea how angry he got. He might as well have slapped me. He demanded that I have the baby aborted. When I told him – I _told_ him – that I wanted to start a family, and that my parents and sisters were going to be looking forward to it, we started having the same old family fights about how he'd rather be a wealthy businessman than a father."

"And how did you react when you made your final decision to refuse the abortion?"

"He didn't hesitate. He packed up all his things, told me he was going to his parents' place for Christmas, then he was going to see about an apartment. Yes, he abandoned me while I was pregnant." She started to cry at her thoughts of loneliness again, and wiped her eyes. "I was desperate for help, so I called my parents, Rhonda and Karen, and told them what happened. They came out for Christmas at the last minute, but could only stay until after New Year's."

Whitney turned to Valerie's family. "You couldn't stay to help Valerie throughout her pregnancy? Or take her back to your homes?"

"As much as we wanted to," Rhonda said, "we had our jobs here to come back to. And Valerie had her advertising job there in Parrish, plus we could not allow her to raise her baby without giving Tom a chance. Heck, _Valerie_ didn't want to raise her baby alone without giving Tom a chance."

"How ironic that I was the strong-headed one in my family, and there I was, crying throughout much of my pregnancy," Valerie added when she calmed herself. "It was such a depressing experience. It was then that I was actually surprised that I didn't have any nausea. I had a hard time concentrating on my work for the first month afterwards. Thank God my boss gave me this lecture about how I couldn't let my personal emotions get in the way of my job. It's something I carry with me to this day. Anyway, it was a struggle, especially when I was about a month overdue." She smiled a little and nodded at Barricade. "Jeremy had his eleventh birthday three days before Tom was shot, and the trip to the zoo where it happened, that was a birthday present from Barricade."

Whitney nodded at her. "Right. So, after going through your pregnancy alone, how long was it before Tom returned, and what happened afterwards?"

"He came back when Jeremy was a month old," Valerie answered. "But it might as well have been better if he kept away. When I introduced him to baby Jeremy, his response was to throw him down on the carpet! Right away!" She fought desperately to keep the tears back, but prepared another tissue.

Whitney looked shocked and devastated. She asked, "Was he that serious about not wanting him?"

Valerie nodded as she cried again. "He brought up the 'obey' part in our wedding vows – again, nothing I remembered – and told me to give Jeremy up for adoption, so he could, again, focus on his business. Yeah, like he wanted me to forget that I ever gave birth to him!" She could feel Highway bringing her closer to him.

"Do you want to us to go to commercial?" Whitney asked.

"No, I feel I must get this out to everyone," Valerie answered. "Anyway, I thought that his stupid business career was all he cared about. When I asked him, he told me that _his_ career was paying for all our basic needs. Like mine meant nothing to our household! What he failed to understand was that _I_ took care of the clothes and grocery shopping! He reminded me that he was the one who paid the bills in the house, not me!"

Whitney looked disapproving at the alleged sexism. "He paid all the bills? Why wouldn't you help?"

"Something we discussed on our honeymoon," Valerie answered while she calmed herself again. "I told him that I wanted to help with the bills and payments, since I was making pretty good money myself. But he insisted on taking care of all the finances, because that was simply the man's role in a household." She paused again. "Anyway, when I told him he was going to stay and be a father to Jeremy, that our son was not going to grow up without one, his response was to throw Jeremy down into his crib. I was horrified, but was able to recover quick enough to take him to the hospital."

"And speaking of hospitals," Whitney said, "when I got the message from your former pediatrician agreeing to come on this show, it was stated that Jeremy was shaken repeatedly to the point where his brain was severely damaged. Can you explain this?"

"Yet another way for Tom to get his point across about not wanting children," Valerie lamented. "Most parents would get up at two in the morning for feeding. Jeremy would cry at night, and Tom would get up to shake him quiet! He'd even smack him around, too. Smacking the baby around at two to six months old! Picture that for yourself, Whitney! I tried everything to get him to stop, and he wouldn't. I tried screaming at him, I tried taking the baby, I tried pushing him away before he could get to him, nothing. He was much too strong, in both body and mind, for me to do anything. To worsen matters, he'd also started drinking while he was away, and Jeremy felt the effects, mostly.

"Tom was never the type to listen to reason, either; he always thought he was right about everything. Which would explain his refusal to go to marriage counseling and anger management courses. He argued that he was doing what responsible fathers should do the their sons, like he was a devout reader of a whacked-out bible. Needless to say, we visited the hospital so often, the staff started calling me by my first name after around three months. He was diagnosed with Shaken Baby Syndrome after the first five times or so."

"And how long before he was declared mentally retarded?" Whitney asked.

"He was only two years old," Valerie replied. "I was surprised when they said the damage was moderate, and that he'd live through it. Most kids in his position don't generally live to see their next birthdays. Still, they declared that he'd never be able to learn much of anything, including learning right from wrong. They said he could never be disciplined through 'commando' methods. But that didn't stop Tom from smacking and belting him whenever the mood struck."

"Now, without going into details of every abusive event you went through," Whitney said, "can you tell me what Jeremy would do, and how Tom would react every time he caught him?"

"Oh, Jeremy was always running around – trotting around, rather – bumping into things, crashing and smashing into things, always by accident, I believed. He was also picking things up, going into our bedroom to take things and examine them. He never could leave anything alone. He also tended to scream and yell a lot, and call out a lot of nonsense. Tom's response – every time – was to pick up a belt, use his hand palm, or make a fist, and 'teach' him not to touch things or interrupt others using that method. It would never work, he would keep doing these things." Valerie breathed to keep from crying again. "Yes, I would defend and protect Jeremy – it's my job as a mother – but Tom would hit me the way he hit Jeremy whenever I did."

Whitney turned to her family again. "I'm assuming this something you came to deal with," she said. "When the Boston family would come to visit you people, what are some of the things he'd do, and how did you react?"

"Jeremy was mostly well-behaved when he came to visit us," Karen said. "They would always spend some time with us during summer vacation. Mind you, we always instructed one of our older children to watch him while Valerie was busy with us. If they couldn't, then either of our husbands would be with him."

"One time, when he was about to turn seven, the family was all at my house," Rhonda added, "and I was showing off a new Ming vase with a pearl in the middle, that Richard and I purchased. Some time later, when we were chatting in the dining room after dinner, we overheard Sarah and Nicole trying to get Jeremy away from the vase. He wanted to see what would happen if he could take the pearl out. When we got there, we saw Sarah down to his level, explaining that the pearl couldn't be taken out, slowly so he could understand it better. That's what you do."

Polly added to the story by explaining the "writing on the wall" incident with Laura and Barbara five years ago. "When I talked to Valerie about this, she was so upset, she vowed never to speak to them again. I was livid myself, and you know what? He kept doing it for the next five years. This is what those women refused to understand, even when they heard it from Margaret. You do not take a mentally retarded child, spank him on his bottom or anywhere else, or use a weapon on him, then expect him to learn a lesson the first time. Not only does he get stressed out and defiant, but he'll also forget what you say after a time, and do it again. Margaret's and my generation believed in spanking kids, but even we knew better than to do that to Jeremy."

"And what was Tom's behavior when he visited?"

"Pretty much the same when he was at their own home," Richard said. "The last time Tom ever came to visit us was when we buried our wives' father. He died when Jeremy was in the first grade, broken heart while worrying about that kid and his mother. Swear to God, if there was anyone in the family who hated Tom the most, it was our father-in-law. Anyway, at the funeral, Jeremy was moving his head around most of the time because of his weak neck muscles. Tom was continually grabbing onto his head to keep it still. That's something else you don't do. But Jeremy still wouldn't stop, and he started screaming mercilessly because Tom's grip was too tight. Valerie tried to get him to stop, but he shoved her aside so hard, she fell off the pew. Then, Tom screamed, 'You will not embarrass your mother and me in public!' Then he started slapping him on the head. In front of the Lord! The reverend yelled at Tom to stop the violence, but he would not listen. Finally, the ushers had to escort him out, holding onto him so tight, so he wouldn't escape. We could hear him screaming and swearing as he was leaving."

"And he still insisted on showing up at the dinner afterwards," Bart added. "He was always ruining family get-togethers with his abusive and confrontational behavior, as if he knew more about parenting than any of us. This one was no different. He was yelling at Valerie for, 'interfering in his disciplining.' Excuse me, but clutching onto a child's head so tight, it stops the blood flow to the brain, that's abuse, as is slapping children alongside their heads. I don't care what anyone says about THAT! I let him know that, and he told me that I was wrong, that Karen and I were stupid, that our boys were spoiled and undisciplined, _and_ the next thing we knew, he took off his belt, grabbed Sheldon by his shirt collar, and attempted to demonstrate for us. Karen grabbed him away before he could, and I shoved him against the table and punched him out. Richard saw this and came over to help. Combined, the two of us are much stronger than he ever could be. By the time the melee was over, we bloodied his nose good, ruined his outfit, and had him thrown out of the mess hall. And we told him he was not welcome in either of our homes."

"As he left, he yelled at us that our children were out of control, and they would end up on the streets, prostituting and dealing drugs," Karen concluded. "What a load of garbage! And all when he was sober! Now, when our children misbehaved, we sent them to their rooms, grounded them, took things away for certain amounts of time, and we took the punishments seriously. We don't ever recall having to spank them all that much. But we would never slap them the way Tom slapped Jeremy, and we would _never_ resort to using weapons of any kind! We'd do that to ourselves before we do that to our kids! We let him know this as he screamed at us over the phone from his hotel room. Well, we wouldn't let Valerie or Jeremy leave until we were sure he was gone. You think we'd want them on the same flight as him?"

Whitney turned to Valerie again. She said astoundingly, "And yet, you dealt with this for ten years in your son's life? Why? According to a statement from your lawyer, you only finalized your divorce this spring, just before you came to Empire City."

"I'm still kicking myself for not doing this when Jeremy was younger," Valerie assured. "But you know what happens to young boys who don't have their fathers in their lives. Even boys with stepfathers, strangers as they call them. They lash out at their mothers, call them unbelievable names, they do poorly in school, they hang out with the worst people. They totally defy the rules at homes and society. Some are even violent. I've heard people complain about this at work, and when I'm over with girlfriends; they're always venting their frustrations to me. I didn't want that for Jeremy, at least not the defiance part. So I stayed, and prayed that Tom would change. Only a pep talk from my mother after his latest report card convinced me otherwise. I spent my divorce trial living in a hotel room, just so he wouldn't get to either of us."

"One last question," Whitney began. "Did you try for another baby after Jeremy?"

"I couldn't," Valerie said. "Seeing what Tom was doing to Jeremy, I knew he would do the same things if I had any more children, whether it be by Tom or another man. Besides, our love life just crumbled to nothing after he came home. He refused to have sex with me. The whole time Jeremy had been around, the only time he'd touch was, as I said, to beat me for defending my son."

Then it was time for another commercial, so Whitney said, "And speaking of school, after this commercial break, we'll speak with attorney Janet Lisbon and Dr. Susan Grenoble about young Jeremy's symptoms of his Shaken Baby Syndrome, and how it affects his learning abilities, plus details of Valerie's divorce and other legal battles, and we'll have her men from C.O.P.S. weigh in with their opinions. Please don't go away, we'll be right back."

* * *

Kim Masterson was in the living room, watching the show while her sixteen-year-old daughter, Katrina, was folding her own laundry. During this commercial break, the mother was shaking her head, not believing anything Valerie was saying. Katrina looked equally unconvinced. 

"Can you believe all these excuses and bullshit she keeps throwing about her son?" Kim asked. "She expects us to be sorry for her. Hah! Maybe if she tells about all the chores she doesn't let him do, Whitney Morgan will see what an overcompensater that bitch is. That lazy and weak mother, encouraging her son to be a sloth just because of his condition."

"Maybe she will when that doctor comes on, Mom," Katrina replied. "But here's what I don't get: if her husband was all that serious about not wanting children in the first place, then why didn't she just agree and submit? Never mind what the parents think, you think today's young adults are obligated to have kids just to soothe the so-called "granny rage?" I'm sorry, but something tells me she wouldn't be in this mess if she'd kept her legs closed to begin with."

"Good point," Kim said, then sipped her coffee. "Maybe she shouldn't have had her son at all. Like I keep telling her, she needs to give him a good dose of tough love. She's obviously not mature enough for parenthood if she's putting on the 'please feel sorry for me' dramatics to defend her actions. Bitch!"

* * *

Linda Fortense and her husband were also watching the show, the woman also not thinking again about her behavior. 

"As much as I'd love to hear what symptoms Jeremy has," she said, "that's no excuse for her to not rule her home with a steel hand. Who are these doctors, anyway? You can't convince me that a child that disabled can't learn what's right from what's wrong. It's a very simple concept."

"I don't know," Wayne said. "What Valerie just described wasn't discipline, it was abuse. And her husband was obviously so focused on what could've been for him, he was too ignorant to tell the difference."

"Her husband had good intentions, and she knew it!" his wife argued. "She never should've divorced him. And what was Valerie's own mother doing defending her daughter's decisions? Pretty surprising coming from a generation that believed in physical discipline to begin with! God, if Valerie is so afraid to spank him for major infractions, then maybe she should've put him in a development center. Let the professionals take care of Jeremy while she went about her business."

* * *

Teresa Laird was showing some sympathy for Valerie as she watched. It was as if she wanted to jump through her TV screen and hold her. She went to the window and tried to find her car in the parking lot. She wanted to run out, drive to the station and hold her. 

_That poor, poor woman_, she thought. _I think her son is so nice, but God, her husband was such an asshole. First thing tomorrow morning, I should put on an announcement for all the other parents to stop coming down on her. Now, if only she could finally pick one of those C.O.P.S., I could stop gossiping.

* * *

_

During commercial break back at the studio, Bart was telling another story about Jeremy when he was younger. "A couple of summers ago, when he was eight," he said, "he and Valerie were staying at our house. It was very hot that day, and Valerie and Karen were watching me wrestle with the boys in the old ring we have in the backyard. Suddenly, Jeremy came trotting out of nowhere, climbed the steps and into the ring, before either of them could get him. I was on my back after Sheldon threw me down, and before I could get up, Jeremy sat down on my bare chest, and starting bouncing on it with his bottom. I could see the women were laughing, but Sheldon picked him up, told him that he had to stay out or else he could get hurt, then gave him to Karen. Minutes later, when my own boys defeated me, Jeremy came back in. I was too exhausted to get up, so he just crawled onto me, and lay there on my chest. I could see the boys didn't do anything about it, and Valerie thought it looked so sweet, she climbed in just to take a picture. I think we have it in one of our albums at home." Just as Janet Lisbon and Dr. Grenoble were joining them on the set. 

A minute later, the floor director called for quiet again, and after he counted down and they went back on air, Whitney said boldly to the camera robot, "Welcome back to _Eye on Empire City_, where we're talking with Valerie Boston, a newly-divorced mother who left an abusive marriage to become the object of affection for some of the best members from C.O.P.S." The camera soon turned on to Janet and Dr. Grenoble. "With me now is Valerie's former family lawyer, Janet Lisbon, and pediatrician Dr. Susan Grenoble, all the way from Parrish, Indiana. Janet Lisbon was a key figure in Valerie's divorce, here to tell us of that and the other legal battles Valerie went through. Dr. Grenoble has been a pediatrician working with mostly special needs children for nearly twenty years. She says working with young Jeremy has been memorable in her career, and will inform us about his limitations. Welcome, ladies."

She focused on Dr. Grenoble first. "Dr. Grenoble, you stated that you've been Jeremy Boston's pediatrician since the day he was first born. Can you tell me how you reacted to the first time he was thrown down by his father? At only a month old, no less?"

"Well, I certainly didn't think I'd be analyzing his brain scans before he could receive his first immunization," Dr. Grenoble said. "Luckily, there wasn't much damage there, which surprised me. But something told me that he wouldn't be able to think like normal children. I was able to determine that he had the mentality of a cerebral palsic."

"When Valerie told you that her husband was responsible, what was your reaction?" Whitney asked.

"As I was with the incident itself, I was shocked. I didn't want to believe Tom would do such a thing. After all, what kind of paternal father would shake his child like that? But then, Valerie said something about him not wanting the child. Then the shock turned to hurt, and I had to force myself not to cry as I delivered her the news."

"And when Valerie started bringing him to the hospital for shakings, did she also confide into you that her husband was doing those, too?"

"No, the hospital staff told me themselves, always as I got up for work, sometimes during my work day, too. After about a month, I kind of got used to having my bedroom phone waking me up every morning instead of my alarm clock. Needless to say, when Jeremy was declared mentally retarded, I was insisting that she be the one in charge of his weekly checkups. Like her family, I was so disgusted with Tom, I dreaded seeing him in my office."

Whitney was thinking about Valerie's divorce delay again. "Then why didn't you inform Valerie to leave her husband on the spot? I'm thinking maybe Jeremy would've had fewer learning problems if she did."

"Believe me, Ms. Morgan, I would've loved to tell her so," Dr. Grenoble said. "I've even discussed this with the staff at both the hospital and the clinic where I work. Unfortunately, I was told to keep that to myself. It's not in my place to tell parents to get divorced to save their sick children. I was not trained as a marriage counselor." She paused as she had another thought. "This makes me wonder what would really possess a paternal father to do such a thing. Really, no man in this category would act this way, not even if they were dead-set against having children. Usually, the ones shaking the children are frustrated young single mothers suffering from depression. Or if they take on a boyfriend who isn't the paternal father, he might see the child as competition for the mother's love and affection. Or an incompetent nanny that the parents hire."

Whitney sat motionless for a few moments, not knowing whether to accept her answer. Then she had to move on to her next question. "Can you tell me all the symptoms you found in Jeremy Boston, specifically, learning difficulties? What subjects is he better at, and what subjects is he worse at?"

"May I answer this one?" Janet inquired, then turned to Whitney. "During proceedings, his principal revealed that he could not do Math or Science like able-bodied children could. It took him some time for him to get used to basic arithmetic, like subtraction with carrying. But he can't really do anything that's advanced, like percentages, and division with a three-digit divisor. At least, not without a calculator. Science was really hard on him; the only highlight was animals in the fourth grade. With Social Studies, it's mediocre. He's good in geography, and he shows interest in how people from other countries lived, but he doesn't have a mind for history."

Sundown grumbled lowly, thinking about that trip to the Alamo. He wondered if Jeremy had forgotten that battle already.

"Jeremy doesn't do all that well in physical education, either," Janet continued. "His teacher reported that, while he's good in certain sports despite his trotting, there are certain aspects of the obstacle course that he can't do, like the balance beam. Also, he recently dropped French because he talks very slowly, and was unable to pronounce words. I also spoke with his music teacher, who was unable to testify. He hasn't taken music since fourth grade; his speaking skills wouldn't allow him to sing with the other children, and he had difficulty with many musical instruments. He couldn't even hold a recorder properly."

The physical education part had Mace thinking of the one-on-one time he spent with Jeremy, and he spoke up. "Whitney, about Ms. Lisbon's part of physical education, when I was spendin' some alone time wit Jeremy early in the summer, I took him to a gym at the rec center. They had this obstacle course there, an' I had Jeremy do everythin', includin' the balance beam. But I saw he couldn't do it by himself, so I had to help him wit that. But around the third lap, I had him do that by himself. He nearly fell off, but I was able to catch him, so we had to skip it for the rest of the time there. He loved playing floor hockey, though, an' he beat me at it. But he couldn't beat me in badminton, an' that was because of his bad arm."

Whitney looked at Valerie, who briefly explained, "Dog attack. Its owner is not here to defend himself, and that's a show for another day."

"Of course," Whitney replied. "Back to school performance, I think I can guess how Tom would react to Jeremy bringing home school reports as described, and badly-graded tests."

"Usually with a belt across his bare skin or head, or his fist, drunk or not," Valerie said. "And he'd do the same to me for defending him, and reminding Tom that the bad school performance was his fault, which it was. He'd accuse me of not pushing him to do his best, and any advice from the teachers was pushed aside as them giving him special treatment."

Whitney nodded and turned back to Dr. Grenoble. "Now, Dr. Grenoble," she said, "I'd like to ask you about Jeremy's physical affections relating to his syndrome. What malfunctions have you noticed where movement and features concerned?"

"Besides the slow speaking that Ms. Lisbon already covered," Dr. Grenoble said, "he found it difficult to walk at first. I think he was around four years old when I saw him walking for the first time. A delay like that is pretty serious. Like all children of Shaken Baby Syndrome, Jeremy has weak muscles in his neck, which don't allow him to keep his head straight, and this causes him to move his head around a lot. I think someone in Valerie's family already covered that. Also, when his brain was bleeding as a result of the shaking, he also went partially blind. He started wearing glasses around the same time he started walking. He also lost his hearing in one ear, although he can understand what you're telling him, provided you're right close to him and talk rationally when speaking. And he tends to drool very infrequently. His principal testified that he had a knack for spitting, as well as disturbing the class by screaming, and an inability to sit still.

"Finally, there's also the matter of his clumsiness. While Jeremy doesn't tend to bump into anything, Valerie has expressed her fears of letting him do certain chores. For example, she doesn't allow him to use a vacuum cleaner, and his stunted height doesn't allow him to reach up to open a washing machine or a freezer. Especially those eight-to-twelve cubic foot chest freezers. She has also told me about time he dropped dishes and cutlery when he set the table, so she doesn't even let him wash them. Even if he were given a stepladder, it would backfire because he wouldn't be able to stand on it, and fall off. His inability to balance himself does not allow him to stand for very long, unless you hold his hand. He needs to be either sitting or moving around. And he finds it difficult to make his bed in the morning. The only chores he's allowed to do are pick up from the floor and empty the dryer."

"What special child-rearing methods do you suggest for people like Jeremy?"

"Spanking and harsh words are especially discouraged. I was listening to Valerie's mother say that spanking doesn't do much for the child, except make him defiant and stressed. She is truly right. Also, children living with Shaken Baby Syndrome won't understand you very well if you speak harshly and scream at them. I highly encourage all parents to sit down with them so that eye contact is fully established, then explain to them that what they did was wrong, using words they'll understand, using a calm, rational tone of voice. But Tom would not listen to any of this. I won't repeat what he frequently said to me, but he talked as if I didn't know my job."

"And how would this type of child adjust to the rules of society, rules like the effects on drugs and alcohol, and crimes being committed?"

"If a Shaken Baby Syndrome child is exposed to public service announcements concerning those subjects and more, chances are they will watch and take in what it's about, what's being said and done, and they will pay attention to the message. Normal children usually get the message through repetition about four or five times, but if exposed to the consequences, a brain-damaged child can get the message almost immediately. Some of my special needs patients know the law quite well, as a matter of fact. However, as Jeremy grows up, there is a good chance he won't be able to understand most new laws."

"That's fascinating," Whitney said, then turned back to Janet. "Ms. Lisbon, we've already heard about what Valerie probably told you, about the history of her marriage, and what some of Jeremy's teachers said to you during Valerie's divorce trial. Can you tell us some things that our viewers don't already know? Like what Tom said at the trial?"

"God, you don't even want to know!" Janet sighed. "Tom Boston was the most trying person I ever had to deal with. But then again, he was trying the whole time I knew him. He was telling his lawyer about how Jeremy doesn't do what he tells him to do, and how he defies his authority, and how it would help if Valerie had some authority herself. Excuse me, but last time I checked, authority did not mean screaming at the children, and barking out orders, and using force every hour of every day in the home, disabled or not. My God, even military personnel understand this. He also told about how Valerie supposedly didn't care about Jeremy's education because she wasn't helping him push Jeremy to work harder in school. When I confronted him, it was the same old song and dance. All he even talked about was what might have been for his store if it weren't for Valerie getting pregnant. Seriously, I didn't care to hear it. I won't get into what his father said when he testified, pretty much the same thing, and also that hogwash about how physical punishment is good for disabled children.

"Some of his homeroom teachers have reported seeing signs of abuse on Jeremy. His second-grade teacher said that he mooned himself to the class to show everyone his red bottom, and she even said that it bled sometimes. She even reported lashes on his chest and stomach. All of which she blamed on Tom! And you should've seen him when I asked Jeremy's fifth-grade homeroom teacher who would be better fit to raise him. Tom started screaming at her, all his accusations coming out. Valerie spoils Jeremy and treats him like a prince. He was only trying to scare him straight – this after the teacher stated that her yelling at the students scared him – and he couldn't believe that the school's toughest teacher was siding with Valerie. The last straw came when Tom turned to Valerie and told her she'd never see Jeremy again. Upon her victory, Tom was stripped of his parental rights, and told to keep a distance of a thousand feet from her. I later learned that his lawyer was fined $300 for not controlling him."

"Undoubtedly, Social Services would get involved in a situation like this," Whitney said. "Valerie, can you tell me how many times Jeremy was removed from your home? And perhaps Ms. Lisbon can fill us in on the legal activities to have him returned."

"The neighbors must've called them on us around a dozen-and-a-half times," Valerie answered. "From the time he was three, up until he was six. He was taken from us half a dozen times. They said that not only was he showing signs of physical abuse, but whenever he was beating me for shielding him, we were exposing Jeremy to an abusive situation. They told us to participate in a fourteen-week parenting program. Tom refused to do this, and vowed to strive to extreme measures to get him back. He often yelled at me to 'get Janet Lisbon on the phone.'"

"And she was always shaking and wobbling her voice when she was calling me," Janet added. "But it was so ugly when we took this to family court. We'd managed to get this done in one day, but Tom would always dominate the proceedings with the same old, same old. He'd insist on doing all the talking. Trust me, I was just as uncomfortable being in his presence as Valerie was. I had to force myself to be nice and go along with the whole discipline thing. But I could see right through him every time, and I'd hope that the judge would declare that Jeremy stay with the foster family until Valerie got enough courage to separate from Tom and get an unlisted number. But the family court system was corrupt, as the judges always declared that he return to the parents. They were old-fashioned fogies who not only believed in that 'spare the rod, spoil the child' thing, but also that mentally retarded children should not be exempt from it. I swear, they were looking down on poor Valerie, as if she wasn't doing her job as a mother. Every time, including that last time they took him away after her father's funeral."

"Thank you," Whitney replied, then a pause which led to a nod, so she said to the C.O.P.S., "We're going to be going to commercial break soon, so could one of you please summarize your thoughts on what was said here?"

Barricade volunteered to speak for the group. "Whoever was agreeing with Tom on this issue was obviously blind to what Valerie was going through. It amazes me that Indiana's family court system saw her as a poor mother raising a spoiled brat. Jeremy is not spoiled at all. He's a sweet boy, and all he's looking for in a father is someone who'll give him the same love and affection that Valerie wants. It's not too much to ask. Based on what Janet Lisbon said, I'm glad that Jeremy's old teachers could see through Tom. We all heard from one of our colleagues' wives what kind of a person Tom Boston was, Valerie obviously told her. This is the reason why we're reluctant to talk about him – we all saw him as a great big jerk. Even Bulletproof Vess does – why else would he insist that the shooting isn't police brutality?"

"Fair enough," Whitney said, then turned to the camera robot. "When we come back after this break, more from the C.O.P.S. about their involvement with Valerie Boston, plus we'll discuss the shooting incident that may put some of these men on investigation. Stay tuned, we will return."

* * *

Back at Kim Masterson's house, she continued to be disgusted with the answers the guests were giving Whitney Morgan. She was especially voicing her disagreements with Dr. Grenoble. 

"Bullshit!" she commanded. "Utter, total and complete bullshit! Was that a doctor or a comedienne? There's no way a kid like Valerie's can be so physically unstable! He can't balance himself on a goddamn stepladder to do the dishes! Again, I'll say bullshit! Then build wooden guards around it so he _doesn't_ fall off, you idiot! And how tall is this kid again? Why is he not tall enough at eleven years old to put clothes in a washing machine? Lancer and Sussex should have her bring him to work again; this I have to see!" She was so incensed, she guzzled the last of her coffee. "Oh, and spanking mentally retarded children makes them stressed and defiant? They won't understand what you're saying when you yell at them? Does she have any _facts_ to back her statements up, or is she just spewing her opinions?"

Her daughter, Katrina, was equally unimpressed. "Here's what I don't get," she said. "What is it with Valerie, her family, and that 'mentally retarded' label? _How_ many times have they used that during the show so far? And why? They're not doing that boy any favors by doing that. Before they can discipline him properly, they need to drop it, and quick. You would never let me or my brothers get away with that kind of thing!"

"Exactly!" said Kim, and picked up the remote. "Let's see what else is on, I'm sick of this crap!"

* * *

Another parent who worked at Lancer and Sussex, communications specialist Edwin Sams, was also watching the show with his wife, as their two young daughters were sleeping. Despite hearing rumors, Edwin had never criticized Valerie's parenting; he'd noticed when Valerie was unhappy at the office, and wouldn't say anything to avoid her wrath. Like Jeremy, Edwin's girls were mostly well-behaved, and he was never very strict, but he wanted to watch to learn about Valerie's predicament. He turned to his wife, Tracey, a family psychologist, and asked, "What do you make of this so far?" 

"I disagree with Dr. Grenoble," Tracey replied. "One of the biggest mistakes a parent can make when raising a special needs child is to treat that child like an outsider. This is exactly what Valerie is doing with her son. I would argue that spanking a child as damaged as Jeremy for disobedience can give him a sense of normalcy. They crave the same discipline as a normal, healthy child, so they can feel normal as well. This is exactly what they want, so they can fit into society easier, and make more friends."

"Too bad this isn't a call-in show," Edwin said. "She'll strongly disagree with that. Just wait until Whitney Morgan asks her about work. She'll go into serious dramatics. I've overheard her during lunch, telling people about how her child will never be normal. Why, last week, when I casually told her about Alissa starting kindergarten, she replied that Jeremy was in a special school for the mentally handicapped."

Tracey shook her head. "I also disagree with that. Put him in a regular school, so he can interact and socialize with regular, normal kids. And maybe have some more involvement in his schoolwork. That's probably why he was failing in most of his subjects the last year. She's only putting him up for serious teasing and ridicule. I've never heard how Jeremy was socially in his old school. I think I'd like to know. Tomorrow, I'll give you one of my cards to give to her. Tell her I'd like her to make an appointment with me."

Edwin looked at her skeptically. "She's going to refuse, I just know it."

* * *

When they went back on air, Whitney said to the camera robot, "Welcome back to _Eye on Empire City_. We're still talking with Valerie Boston, a divorcée who has been carrying on many romantic relationships with the members of C.O.P.S. accompanying her, Highway Harlson, Mace Howards, Barricade Hide and Sundown Calhoun." 

Again, Karen winced at Bart, but didn't say anything.

Whitney turned to Valerie again. "Now, Valerie, before we get into your relationships, and all the negative criticism you may have gone through, I'd like to talk to you about the day your ex-husband was gunned down. You've been in Empire City for only a few months at this point, and your attempt to make a new life has been threatened. How did this happen, for starters?"

"This all started when I saw my cousins, Laura and Barbara, at the family reunion at Empire City Park," Valerie explained. "I had to attend because their mother, my Aunt Margaret, had spent months planning it, and I didn't want to disappoint her. Mind you, Jeremy was out of town then, as Sundown insisted on taking him along on his vacation, and I agreed. Margaret was a bit disappointed. Anyway, all my other beaux had come along as my multiple dates, and that's when I saw my discipline-happy cousins. I hadn't spoken to them since the spanking incident my mother had told you about."

"Did you get a feeling of déjà vu at the reunion?" Whitney asked. "Is that why you agreed that Jeremy go away with Sundown?"

"Yes, I especially didn't want _Laura_ whacking his behind, should he accidentally knock down her precious three-year-old granddaughter," Valerie said. She and Barbara had already learned about my divorce, and yet Barbara looked amazed at how quickly I got back into dating. Laura was still angry about the divorce – Aunt Margaret had warned me. Barbara was more polite about it, but I could tell she wasn't too happy, either."

"What did they say?"

She breathed again to keep from crying. "First off, let me say that Laura strongly disagrees with everything Dr. Grenoble said about discipline, and would have no problem telling her so if she had come on here. That cousin had the nerve to suggest that Tom had been the perfect husband and father all throughout our marriage. You should've heard how sarcastic I was to her. She said that I was passive-protective, and that she didn't see why Jeremy couldn't benefit from being spanked. And when Barricade tried to reason with her, she got very snide with a snotty, '_Nobody asked you!_' She'd shocked everyone, including her mother. Again, Barbara was more polite about it, but she said that Tom meant well when he did what he did with Jeremy. She said she wanted to be happy for me and my new loves, but I threw Tom away for nothing." She breathed harder because she thought she was going to cry. "I put up with enough of this from the majority of parents at my workplace! I don't need this from my relatives!"

"It's all right, Valerie," Whitney assured her. "Please tell us what happened next."

When she calmed down, Valerie said, "Well, after Barbara had asked, Karen tried to assure her Jeremy does listen to me, do what he told, and doesn't throw tantrums every time I say no. I told them that certain bad behaviors were beyond his control, but Laura wouldn't buy it. She still thought I was lazy and weak, and that I was spoiling Jeremy with 'the wrong form of love.' Hah! There's no such thing! She thought I was poisoning the C.O.P.S.' minds, trying to get them to take on my parenting methods! She even asked what they saw in me, never mind that they love me! Then she called me a slut for dating five of them, a permissive mother, a drama queen, and said that I didn't deserve custody of Jeremy because I was allegedly screwing him up. They and their husbands have never shaken any of their kids, so how would they possibly know what's best for Jeremy!"

"That last part is a little harsh," Whitney commented. "How did you react?"

"Well, I wouldn't take any more abuse from her, so I shoved her down, and we engaged in a physical fight. I won't get into the grisly details, but I hit her first before she could do me, then after we wrestled each other, she pinned me to a tree and began to beat me just like Tom used to do. Our grip was too strong for the family to separate us, but I felt Highway grabbing onto me, saw Mace controlling Laura, and we were able to stop. I never talked to Laura again for the rest of the event, not even after Barbara and the C.O.P.S brought me back."

"And fast forward to the day Tom Boston arrived here in town."

Valerie felt emotionally frozen at the memories, but after a few moments, managed to speak. "I was in charge of a commercial for a sports drink, and we had just started filming. Laura kept our old e-mail address, and must've told him what happened at the reunion, because he'd brought that up when I demanded to know what he was doing here. He'd come to Empire City just to take Jeremy back, and he wouldn't leave until he'd done so."

"And what did he tell you?"

"Naturally, he was unimpressed when he learned that I hadn't changed my 'permissive' ways of parenting. I told him about how sensitive and delicate he is, and he shrugged it off as me babying him, like he always did. He brought up the same bull Laura gave me about disciplining special needs children. He was also disgusted with my multiple romances, suggesting that's not how officers should act in their off-duty time, and he said that he didn't want Jeremy thinking that way about police in general. He didn't care that they actually loved me and Jeremy, and what they did to show it."

"Did he threaten legal action?"

"He did, he said he'd get the family court involved. He told me he would successfully get his parental rights back, and get full custody of Jeremy once he exposed me. First off, if that happened, then Tom would've ended up killing Jeremy, and besides, I am a hard-working woman with a real career, not a prostitute." Then, she thought about what he said about his career. "Oh, and you remember Janet talking about his attack on Jeremy's former fifth-grade teacher? That made headlines back in Parrish, and it cost him his reputation as a businessman. Personally, I was glad that everyone saw him as the child abuser he was. But he said he'd found some land out west to start up a new store. He said that he would be able to provide for Jeremy, and that he'd never see me or the C.O.P.S again."

"Did you tell him you'd go to the police? And what did he say if you did?"

"I threatened to, he sensed it. Sic my little group of Romeos on him, that's what he said." Valerie rolled her eyes as far back as they would go. "He just said he'd tell them he was Jeremy's father, and threatened to expose me as a mother to them." She pointed at her loves. "He was determined not to let any of _these_ men take over as Jeremy's father, and Tom added that Jeremy needed him more than he did me." She decided to add a little sarcasm. "Yeah, Jeremy _really_ needs an abuser for a father!" When she calmed down again, "I had to leave in the middle of my assignment, take this to C.O.P.S. headquarters, and tell Karen what was going on immediately. She was caring for Jeremy at her home, and she wouldn't let him out until it was time for his birthday party. Needless to say, they sent me home early that day."

Whitney was even more curious, so she asked, "How did he find your commercial shoot location to begin with? Information like that is usually confidential."

"My secretary, who shall remain nameless, gave it to him!" Valerie griped. "I was so disgusted, I really gave it to her when I got back. She said that he looked non-threatening, that he said it couldn't wait – this was when she asked him to come back later – and that she thought he looked cute. She looked oblivious when I had to explain my past to her, and I thought my bosses were going to fire her. I think they almost did."

"What happened at the party?"

"These four attended, along with their now ex-competitor, Bowzer." Valerie frowned a little more when she thought of Bowzer. "It's too hard to talk about what happened to him. Anyway, all five of them came, along with Longarm and Blackbelt, and their young sons, Jeremy's new friends, Brian and Tyler. Things were going very well until Tom called me on my cell phone from his uncle's house. He said that he'd have his uncle give me two thousand dollars if I gave him Jeremy, or have Karen do it for me. I flatly refused, then Mace grabbed my cell, and threatened to get more police on him if he didn't leave me alone."

"All right," Whitney said, then turned to the C.O.P.S. "Would one of you please tell me what happened the day of the shooting?"

Barricade decided to speak first. "I'd decided to take Jeremy to the zoo as part of his birthday present from me. That's what I told Bulletproof when he called me from headquarters. I thought maybe we'd all go undercover there to get him, just in case he might show up. The morning of the trip, when I took Jeremy to the briefing, I saw that few were undercover as staff members, while the rest were zoo patrons. Everything was fine up until around eleven-thirty, when Blackbelt reported that he saw Tom's truck parking in the lot."

"We saw that Tom was already inside when we neared the entrance," Sundown continued, "an' the four of us an' Longarm were crowded 'round Jeremy to protect him. We were gonna confront him as a team. You should've seen him, now there was a determined man. He was mighty unimpressed to see us. The Casanova Authority Group, we were, an' he thought Longarm was part of it, too, just 'cuz he was grouped wit us."

"Tell me some of the things he said to you," Whitney said.

"Some of it was the same as what he told Valerie," Sundown said. "He said what we're doin' wit her wasn't good fer Jeremy, us groupin' up to share Valerie, to be more polite. He wanted Jeremy to have more respect fer police than that, but that didn't convince us none to give him the boy. We all knew he start whackin' poor Jeremy around whenever he felt like it, but when Mace brought it up, he just laughed it off. Authority figgers who couldn't tell discipline from abuse, that's what he said. An' he talked as if the boy was wild an' bad all the time, insistin' that he disciplined him. Talkin' to us as if we were stupid or somethin', especially since none of us have kids of our own; he said we were really messin' Jeremy up, also callin' Valerie lazy an' incompetent.

"Well, what he couldn't git through that head of his was that what he did _was_ abuse! An' given the way he was talkin' to us, I reckoned maybe he'd talked to Valerie that same way when she was livin' wit him. Now, back where I come from, a gentleman don't talk to a lady in that same abusive, spiteful manner as Tom. Us Texas gentlemen go that extra mile to worship the women we're in love wit. An' we give kids like Jeremy extra special care that regular children wouldn't git. So I brought Jeremy forward, just to show him the very boy that was sufferin' in his hands, an' I laid all that I told 'bout mannerisms out fer Tom. But just 'fore he could respond, Bowzer an' Blitz found a gun in his back pocket, and Tom snatched it away from them an' pointed it at me!"

"And," Highway added, "he was about to tell us his version of things. So, with all of us surrounding him, we drew our weapons, and I told him he wasn't about to talk. See, we may not know much about kids, but what we do know is that being a dad means being there for your kids physically and emotionally from day one. But that didn't faze him at all, and instead of leaving like we asked, he shot Sundown's weapon out, barely missing him, snatched Jeremy from his grip and ran – all when we still wouldn't give him up."

"How close was he to getting away with the child?"

"Not as close as he wanted to," Highway said. "We were able to follow Jeremy's screaming all the way back to the truck, though he was sure running faster than we were. He had just thrown Jeremy inside, and we could hear that father screaming at his son. Just before he could go to his side, we saw Longarm get him with his Powercuff, but that wasn't enough to stop him. He had just opened his door when Sundown and I quickly shot him three times each."

Whitney looked at Sundown again. "And what made you decide to finish Tom Boston off like you did?" she asked. "Some authorities would argue that Tom was to receive medical help for being shot, then possibly brought in alive, so he could be turned in by police, and given a fair trial."

"That's true, miss, but we weren't 'bout to let Tom live," he insisted. "Or I sure wasn't, the way he tortured an' schemed against Valerie. Keep in mind that Tom wasn't gonna leave here without Jeremy in tow. He would've very well broke outta jail, tracked down Jeremy an' kidnapped him in another public place. Plus, given all that he did to him an' his mama, I sure as God blessed Texas wasn't gonna let 'em live one more day in fear of him. So Highway an' I stand by our decision to shoot to kill. If there was one thing Valerie Boston needed, it was to have her soul an' spirit set free from years of almighty hell."

Valerie looked back at Sundown. She smiled and almost sniffled at such an emotional speech. She knew his reasons for killing Tom were expressively true. She wanted to kiss him, but not while the cameras rolled. Maybe during commercials. But Whitney called her name again, and she focused her attention on the newswoman.

Whitney asked her, "Did anything happen in the days that followed? Did you see any of his family members? What did they say about it?"

Valerie thought of her threesome date with Sundown and Highway again, when Earl and Henry Boston barged in on her. "Yes," she said. "That Saturday night, Sundown and Highway both took me out to the White Apple Palace. In the middle of a musical number, I just happened to make eye contact with my former father-in-law, Earl, and his brother, Henry. Henry, the man Tom had been staying with in Empire City. I thought that they'd come to give me details of the funeral, but it turned out they'd decided to blame Tom's death entirely on me. Now, I won't repeat every word of the confrontation, because much of what they said, we already covered. Father Earl was reminding me of what could've been for the family business if I hadn't gotten pregnant in the first place. Having a family or living the American dream, I had to choose. When I told him that not everyone strives for his visions of the latter, he was quick to inform me that it's no longer just about keeping a roof over your head, food in your stomach, and so on. Totally contradicting from what my own parents had taught me. Of course, he also threw in that bit about how the world _should_ judge a man by the amount of money he has! Now _that's_ a ludicrous statement if I ever heard of it!

"He also accused me of having Jeremy out of my own self-importance. Mind you, this man lived not too far away, almost across the street from where Tom and I lived, maybe in a nearby city. But he would never come to see me or Jeremy, and Tom would always go to visit him without us, even on special holidays. He told me that he told Tom to do whatever he could to make sure Jeremy was not wanted in the family! Now it all made sense!"

"Did you remind the paternal grandfather of Jeremy's brain injuries?" Whitney asked. "I'm immediately suspecting that Tom never brought this up."

"I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't," Valerie sighed. "I tried to, but like his son, Earl dismissed this as an excuse for me to let _my_ son do whatever he wants! He claimed that Tom did what he did to show Jeremy that his 'wild' behavior would be intolerable! Henry was no help, telling me that Tom would still be alive if I'd handed Jeremy over to him like he asked me to when he called at the party. _Henry_ insisted that Tom was a good provider, a good man, and would've been the better parent. Hah! My husband was _only_ a good provider, and that's it!"

"Did he offer his opinions on how to discipline Jeremy?"

"He sure did! He said that mentally retarded children like Jeremy should be spanked for misbehavior, so they're not treated differently from other children, or 'outsiders,' as he put it! That might be sage advice for someone who has mild brain damage, I guess, but anyone who'd use that argument for someone like Jeremy is obviously living in a fantasyland! In his words, _'He must be treated like a normal child, and given the same type of punishment for any misbehavior.'_" She tried to mimic Henry Boston's voice, but sounded funny doing it. She spoke normally again. "Earl gave Tom that stupid advice – and I mean stupid – when he told him that Jeremy was retarded to begin with! That said, I'd like to say something that will hopefully stop the criticism I'm getting. And that is Jeremy will never be like other normal, healthy children. Never! He'll still talk slowly, he'll still have outbursts, he'll still be too clumsy and weak to do some things that normal kids do, he'll still function like a little kid when he's a teenager. He may even die when he gets to that stage. Babies who are shaken repeatedly all the time don't generally make it to their third birthday, and those who survive through it, like Jeremy did, generally don't live long lives. If they do make it to age eighteen, they probably live only a few more weeks afterward. So why should I treat him like a normal child, and discipline him like that? I know he won't be a normal adult!

"Yes, a wise man once said, 'It is not my job to be my child's friend, it is my job as a parent to guide him to adulthood safe, sane, and in one piece.' Well, that wise man never had to care for a severely retarded child! I don't know about sane, but Jeremy wasn't safe, and he sure as hell won't get to adulthood in one piece, more like a million pieces." She was on the verge of crying for what seemed to be the tenth time, and Highway held her again.

"Thank you," Whitney said. "I believe our viewers could learn something just from that speech." Then it was time for commercial again, so she added, "When we return, we'll conclude our interview by asking the C.O.P.S. about what makes Valerie and her son special to them. Please stay with us, we'll be right back."

Valerie looked a little surprised. Whitney had no plans to ask her about the criticism and gossiping she'd been dealing with at work. She asked her this, and Whitney replied, "There's no need for us to get into that, really. You must be tired of talking about discipline. Your ex-husband had a very big link to it, I know, and it's been making you very emotional. We have one last segment to do, and I'd like to make it positive, if I can."

"She's right," Polly added. "You've said all you needed to about Tom and defending your parenting. You've shared with some of us about what you went through on your job. You don't need to do that here. Besides, it could cost some of your co-workers their jobs if you said anything about it on air."

Valerie decided they were right, and slowly nodded. Meanwhile, Sundown bit his lower lip, thinking mostly of how his brother and sister-in-law harped Jeremy at dinner on the very first day of vacation. He decided to keep quiet about it.

When they went back on air, Whitney said, "Welcome back to _Eye on Empire City_. In what has to be a quite emotional and dramatic hour, we've been listening to Valerie Boston discuss her former marriage, and how her ex-husband's actions toward their child drove her to make her decisions on parenting today." The camera robot was now on Valerie and the C.O.P.S. "Now, I'd like to focus on her current relationships with the members of the Central Organization of Police Specialists shown here." Whitney asked the C.O.P.S., "I'd like to ask all of you exactly what you find special about Valerie and her son, and perhaps share any special memory that you have had with them thus far. Highway, we'll start with you."

He smiled and replied, "Well, one need only to look at her and how she is with her son, and you'll see that she's very compassionate, caring, and forgiving most of all. I love how conscientious she is with Jeremy. People need to realize that she's only doing what she believes is right, given his condition. And Jeremy is not the type of person to do whatever he wants, whenever, contrary to obvious popular belief. Of course, he doesn't have enough strength to be violent towards others. Why, the closest he'd get to hitting anyone hard would be a little tap on the thigh. And he could never talk back to others, with the way he talks.

"As for special memories, I guess the most special memory I had of Valerie was when she showed me her final draft for the Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs cereal that featured Jeremy. I thought he looked so sweet eating both the ice cream and cereal on one page. That was when I knew he would be the most special little boy I'd ever meet, if his mother was willing to put him in a project for her work. I wasn't surprised that it got accepted and put in the magazines so quick. And Jeremy, well, that would be the time I took him to the Rippin' Wild waterslides, just him and me. We went tandem on all the slides, even the ones with the large splash at the bottom. You think I was going to let him slide alone? And we did bumper boats and everything else, and after dinner, I helped him with a game of mini-golf. We were like glue that day, stuck together, and I think that was a time when we actually bonded."

Now, it was Sundown's turn. "Oh, but how can I describe Valerie in a story short enough? There ain't no way. I'm just so mystified by her beauty, I can't concentrate on much else. The way she wears her hair an' clothes would make any man fall hard fer her. Oh, but if she could speak with the same twang that I have, or musical like a belle of the Deep South, she would fit right in back in Texas. An' she'd be the envy of all the other beautiful women who live there. But she's much too precious to be taken advantage of by just any man. She'd be a complete jewel if it weren't fer her tendency to curse."

Valerie blushed off-camera. The last part about the cursing, she could admit to freely.

"Anyway," Sundown continued, "my most special memory was that of our first date, out on the beach, alone. She wore the same dress she wore to the White Apple Palace, maroon with purple stripes, and we had plans to watch the sunset 'fore we went dancin'. She went out into the ocean an' let it splash onto her dress. She tried to lure me out into it, but I wouldn't. After we watched the sunset, she decided to take me into the ocean wit her fer a swim. Oh, but I'll never forget fallin' into the drink tryin' to git her over my head, that was so funny. An' when we got out, we started makin' love on the shoreline, then sleepin' in the back of my truck underneath the stars. It was a first date I'll always treasure.

"As fer Jeremy, well, he's better behaved than most people give him an' Valerie credit fer. Given all the time I've spent wit him, I've learned that some things are just his nature. It's somethin' you learn quickly wit kids like him. My special memory wit him definitely was our vacation to the Southwest. He loved the Grand Canyon best of all. Ev'rythin' you could think of out there, we did. On his birthday, I took him for a tandem horseback ride along the trails, an' he was so taken away by the scenery. It is beautiful out there, after all." He smiled towards Valerie. "We watched the sunset along the canyon ev'ry evenin', an' once I told him how I loved his mama, and that I was determined to become his daddy, that which Tom never could be. An' on the way home, I told him that when it came time fer him to meet Jesus, he could tell Him all 'bout seein' the Grand Canyon."

Mace was trying to think up a memory with Valerie that didn't involve Nightshade. He couldn't, the way that jewel thief tried to sabotage most of their dates. Just before his turn came up, he quickly thought of the time at the park the day before her family reunion, but was it special enough? When it was his turn, he suddenly said, "I guess what I love most about Valerie an' Jeremy is that neither of them want to be spoiled rotten. I'm a big believer in physical discipline, an' I don't believe people are made of money, so when it comes to the opposite sex, expensive tastes, bad attitudes an' haughty preachiness are big turn-offs to me. Valerie only has haughty preachiness, but within good reason. Just lookin' at Jeremy the day he met us C.O.P.S. at the police picnic, I knew this was one kid I don't smack around at all. Getting' back to bein' spoiled, I'm glad that Valerie ain't like that. She don't care about gettin' diamonds every time I see her, or dinin' at four-star restaurants, or $150 tickets to a classic theater show. She's perfectly content just stayin' home fer a date, cuddled up with a DVD movie. It sure shows what kind of mother she is to her son. An' Jeremy, I like that he don't ask fer much, if anythin' out of want. I don't think there's many material things he'd be interested in anyway, other than books.

"My fondest memories of 'em? Startin' with Valerie,… well, I guess it was the night I told off my former flame, Big Boss' hired jewel thief named Nightshade, in front of her. I remember bein' over at her house with Jeremy there. After we played a game together, Valerie told me to go downstairs while she prepared Jeremy fer bed. I was listenin' to her jukebox when Nightshade appeared in the rec room, in a red nightie, all ready to seduce me. Now, we'd been on rocky ground with our romance, because I was positive she'd been up to her old tricks. But there she was, singin' and dancin' to some sexy music, strippin' me down to my underwear, givin' me those beggin' gestures an' looks, sayin' that I had to take her back. I was thinkin' of Valerie that whole time. Suddenly, Valerie appeared in the rec room when she saw Nightshade's coat, and it almost turned into a catfight. Valerie ran upstairs – I knew it was to call headquarters – with Nightshade soon comin' after her. When I got fully dressed I ran up to see them physically fightin'. It wasn't until Longarm an' Mirage arrested her that I finally got enough nerve to tell Nightshade myself that it was over. In front of Valerie, no less; she thought it was the bravest thing I could do for her.

"I have two fond memories with Jeremy. One was when I took him swimmin' at the recreation center, the same pool I'd taken Valerie to on our first date, the same day we'd spent playin' sports an' that obstacle course I told you about. He could swim by himself when we were in the shallow end, though it was only doggy' paddlin, but I had him hold onto me when we were in the deep end. Maybe it was the feelin' of his head on my upper back, but I could somehow tell he didn't want to let me go." He decided not to include seeing Nightshade, Buttons McBoomBoom and Turbo Tu-tone in the glass dome that they shattered, or punching them out to arrest them. "Another time was the day I showed up at Valerie's house to take Jeremy to the lake for the day. It was about an hour away from the city, an' it was the weekend before he and Valerie left fer their business trip. It was pretty much the same as the pool, except I had Jeremy perched on my shoulders one time as I was chest deep in the water. There I was, clutchin' onto his legs so tight, so he wouldn't fall in if he tipped himself back. We also took a ride on a motorboat that one of my buddies owned, but I had to hold on to Jeremy so he wouldn't fly off, and he was a bit too small to go raftin'. But we did find time to go fishin', and we caught two big ones. One, we had fer dinner over a campfire, an' the other we gave to Valerie, who took it to Karen, I believe." Valerie and Karen both nodded. "Too bad Highway an' I didn't get our paid vacation time, unlike Sundown an' Barricade. Then we really could've spent some time alone with Jeremy for more than just a day."

Finally, it was Barricade's turn. "What more can I say about her?" he asked. "Everyone has covered everything about what makes Valerie and Jeremy special to us. Valerie is beautiful, sweet, and worthy of any man's affection. And out of all of us, I think I've bonded with Jeremy the best. You ask if he wants to do something, and he'll jump at the chance. All he wants is a man who will spend time with him, teach him how to be the best man he can be through wisdom and gentleness. A man who give him the affection he's longed for, that his birth father wouldn't give him. That said, my most special memory involved both of them, when we brought Jeremy on our first date together, an afternoon in Empire City Park. After she showed me the set for a fashion commercial she was doing, or something, we took Jeremy on a quiet stroll through the park. We had lunch, and Valerie and I were touched that Jeremy wanted to sit beside me. Afterwards, we took him to the petting zoo, because I wanted to show him the Midas Chicken and those beautiful eggs he lays, but it got stolen, so I cheered him up by buying him ice cream." He decided to leave out that melee with Buttons and Turbo, who'd committed the theft. "Honorable mentions would be the time Jeremy and I saw the Fourth of July fireworks together, though it would've been better if Mace hadn't sat with us, and Jeremy and I returned from a five-day trip to Washington D.C. two weeks ago.

Whitney turned to Valerie again. She asked, "Having heard all that, what can you say about the decision you'll have to make? And please don't take this as pressure."

"Honestly, I still can't make up my mind," Valerie answered. "I still think they're all handsome, charming and caring most of all. I especially admire the last part. I guess that's what makes them the good guys in this town, right?" She looked at all her beaux, who didn't even know how to look at her to respond.

"All right, fair enough," Whitney said, then the show went to one last commercial break.

A minute later, the show went back on air only briefly. "I'd like to conclude tonight's show with a question that I've been thinking about during commercials." She turned to Valerie's family and said, "If all three sisters, including Valerie, are working outside the home, and the husbands are too, then who's taking care of Jeremy? Having heard his fragile condition, it sounds like he needs round-the-clock care."

Karen raised her hand and said, "I am. I actually have been staying at home for the past nine years. This came as the result of an argument our families were having. Mom and Dad were still insisting that I keep my job as an interior designer to bring in money – no daughter of theirs would be just a housewife with no income. But it was tradition in my husband's family that the man brings home the bacon, so to speak, and _they_ kept insisting that kids do best when one parent stays at home – something my sisters weren't allowed to submit to. One night, my husband showed me an infomercial about running a business from your home. We took it to our families, and we compromised. So I run my own interiors business from my home computer. Before Valerie moved into my neighborhood, though, she and Jeremy lived under Rhonda's roof, and Mom looked after Jeremy, since both she and Richard worked.

Whitney nodded, and said to the camera robot. "And that concludes tonight's interview. I'd like to thank Valerie Boston and her family, and the members of C.O.P.S. who showed up in support, and a gracious thank you to Janet Lisbon and Dr. Susan Grenoble for their expert opinions. I'm Whitney Morgan. See you next time on _Eye on Empire City._" She got up to shake everyone's hand as the credits rolled. After her handshake, Valerie just stared off, thinking about work the next day. Hopefully, her critical co-workers would stop with the negative talking.

* * *

Police chief Stephen Irons had come home from work in time to watch the show. As he watched and listened to Valerie, her family, the C.O.P.S, Janet Lisbon and Dr. Grenoble, he began to understand that Tom Boston was indeed the unfeeling, abusive man that Bulletproof Vess and Commissioner Highwater lauded him as. He understood that Valerie and Jeremy were victims of unspeakable cruelty, and that Sundown and Highway did do what was right. Afterwards, he went to call Highwater. 

"Highwater, it's Chief Irons," he said. "Listen, I've decided to call off the investigation of Walker "Sundown" Calhoun and David "Highway" Harlson. I'll inform my people of this in the morning."


	26. Awareness

**Author's Note:** This note is to give a shout-out to Anthony Bannon (The Turbo Man), whom I've been helping to give C.O.P.S. information for his own fanfic. If you see this, you're very welcome for the information I provided to you, even though you never got to see that Mace's Romance episode. (I wish I did too.) I'm looking forward to seeing your story added to this subcategory someday – sooner than later – and judging your stories, too. (Winks)

* * *

Chapter 26

The next morning, Valerie drove to the agency looking confident, yet nervous. She could feel these emotions fighting in her soul. She was sure most, if not all, of those against her watched her appearance last night. She was expecting certain reactions from certain people. But she walked in to see Teresa looking emotional and concerned at her.

"Valerie!" she said. "Your appearance on Whitney Morgan's news show last night moved me!"

Valerie's fears immediately went away, and she laughed a little. "Really?" she asked. "You're not married or a mother."

"I know, but I thought your son looked so sweet and gentle when I first met him, remember?" Teresa reminded her. "The way you went on and on about your marriage, it just made me want to cry. Seriously, Valerie, if I had a child with the man I love, and that child ended up like yours, I wouldn't know what to do. Especially if I were single like you. I think I'd have to move in with one of my brothers. Or leave him with my parents while I worked."

Valerie could tell the once mean secretary wanted to be nice to her. But was this real, or was Teresa doing this to keep from being disciplined again? Part of her wanted to embrace, but to hold her like that in a public workplace looked so unprofessional. So she just said, "Thanks for the support, Teresa. You may be gossipy, but still, it's nice to know you haven't said I was a rotten mother."

"I don't think you're a rotten mother," Teresa assured her. "And I'm going to put a personal memo out to all staff about this right now." She went back to her computer and activated her word processor.

"You don't have to do that now," Valerie said.

"And yet, I should. I sat listening to Lancer and Sussex at those meetings about you, and they're right. You may be a skank at the moment, but you deserve more respect around here where your son is concerned." After she completed the basic information – the staff in the _To_ line, her own name in the _From_ line, the date and memo subject – she clicked on the writing field and asked, "So, um, which one of those C.O.P.S. do you want? Inquiring minds want to know."

"That will be none of your business until I've made that decision," Valerie immediately answered. "And you may want to quit blabbing everything you hear about my dates!" She clocked in, and was just about to leave to oversee a project, when Edwin Sams walked in.

"Valerie!" he said. "Listen, I saw your interview with Whitney Morgan last night, and I must say, I had a lot of mixed feelings."

"You did?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered. "Obviously, you were dealt an unfair hand when your husband dumped you. But do you know why your husband was hitting Jeremy and calling it discipline?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me you're siding with the one who deserves to burn in Hell. There was no reason for Jeremy to be treated like he was, and you know it!"

"He did it so Jeremy wouldn't feel like an outsider, or so that's what Tracey thinks. I don't want to sound like the family members who were cruel to you, but you're doing Jeremy a terrible disservice by not letting him function like a normal human being, especially in the discipline department. If you spank Jeremy for taking things that don't belong to him, or being disruptive, or getting into sprays and other things containing hazardous chemicals, things like that, then you'll help him to feel normal, which is what children like him desire."

Valerie started to get offended. "Well, you can tell Tracey that Jeremy will never be able to grow up normal, and that argument is a load of bull. Didn't you hear what I said about how he'll have his problems in his teen years, and how I don't expect him to make it to adulthood? You wouldn't be saying that if you understood it."

"Valerie, Jeremy won't grow up a be a functional member of society if you don't let him fit _into_ society to begin with. Do you keep him carefully shielded in your house? Do you tell the caregivers to do the same?"

"No. He goes out to play sometimes, and other people love his company, too. He has two able-bodied friends named Brian and Tyler, who don't make fun of his condition. But that doesn't mean there aren't other able-bodied kids who won't."

"I'm guessing they're all the normal friends he has. Tracey also believes that your putting him in a special school for differently-abled children may have something to do with it. See, if you'd put him in a public or private school instead, then Jeremy could be on the same social level as normal children. Again, you're treating your special needs child like an outcast. I'm guessing this also contributed to his bad grades at his old school, your refusal to have him take part with an able-bodied class."

"Oh, like putting him in a public school here would change anything!" Valerie lamented. "In the last public school Jeremy went to, he got teased a lot because he was 'too dumb' for Science, advanced Math, and history. And sixth grade in the public system gets harder, as well as middle school and high school. Trust me, I've been there. Jeremy would not survive it, and also be more depressed because of increased bullying. His fifth-grade teacher revealed the bullying in my divorce. How would you like it if kids were calling your daughter 'retarded?' And another thing, Jeremy wasn't taking part with his class much in the last year because he was seeing in-school specialists!"

"Still, your discipline with him is inconsistent," Edwin insisted, "and there's obviously a lot of room for improvement." He retrieved his wife's business card from his inside jacket pocket. "Tracey would like you to see her for an appointment, so she can tell you how."

"Okay, you know what?" Valerie said. "I think I'm doing a good enough job with my son, whom I told you is a wonderful boy much of the time. And I think my child-rearing techniques as prescribed by his former doctor are sound." She ripped up the card, and threw the pieces back at him. "Thanks, but no thanks. Now if you don't mind, I have a billboard advertising project to oversee and I might be late." She rushed off as if she was leaving another bad date.

Teresa had been listening to them, then proceeded with her memo. "Don't look at me, Edwin," she said. "Valerie's damn tired of that garbage. Looks like you need to read this memo, too."

* * *

Several hours later, Valerie was standing with her project team, Gerinna Donalds and Stephen Flett. They were watching city workers paste an ad for Texas Pride jeans that they worked on. Four shirtless models photographed from abdominal and lower back to below the knees, showing front and rear views of the new client's jeans in colors of blue, black, brown and grey. They were looking to see if the ad was being applied straight. Valerie and Stephen were keeping professional looks, but noticed Gerinna was drooling over the models almost as soon as the first application went up. 

"Oh, look at those trim stomachs and asses," she'd commented in a "ghetto" fashion. "Break me off a piece of those, big papa!"

Valerie had lightly slapped her on the side of her head. "I hope you're not going to act like that when we show this to Lancer and the client," she'd told her.

They were surveying for most of the morning now, the billboard being applied smoothly, the workers smoothing out the paper on the board. One more application to go. "Good job, you guys!" Valerie called. "We should be done by eleven-thirty!"

As the workers were finishing, Gerinna turned to Valerie and said, "Val, I just want you to know that I did see you on that _Eye on Empire City_ show, and I just felt horrible for you. I now understand that Jeremy's discipline and learning problems were all your husband's fault, and all those cans of whoop-ass won't help anything. Perhaps they would if Tom hadn't shaken him at all to begin with. I just couldn't fathom me or my husband doing that to either of our two teen boys."

"Thanks, Geri," Valerie replied.

"If I ever criticized you for your lax parenting skills, I want you to know I'm sorry. Given all that your doctor said about him, your decision not to spank seems sound." Gerinna held out her hand to shake, and Valerie took it.

"You should've thought that out yourself through Mr. Sussex's lectures," she said, "rather than listening to Linda and Donna and everyone else."

Stephen decided to get involved in the conversation. "If your husband hadn't shaken your son, and did all those other things," he said, "would you have spanked him for misbehavior?"

Valerie thought it over. "Maybe if I thought his life was in danger, like running out into the middle of the street, or drinking the liquids you keep under the sink, or sticking his fingers in a socket. Stuff like that. I wouldn't be one of those warped, obsessive people who belt for the smallest things. I think it'd be cute if he experimented with my makeup at age three. For things like making big messes and hitting me, he'd get a firm lecture and locked in his room for time-out." Her co-workers smiled with slight approval.

When the final piece of the billboard ad was put up and smoothed out, Valerie smiled, and gave a "thumbs-up" to the workers. "Perfect!" She took out her cell phone to call Mr. Lancer.

"The billboard sign is ready to be judged by the Texas Pride jeans people," she said. "We're all at the assigned spot for this. You can give them a call, and meet us here in about half an hour."

At close to eleven-thirty, they saw Mr. Lancer's car drive up to the project team. Valerie greeted the client, Jim Kirkland – fiftyish, brown hair starting to go grey, black trenchcoat over a grey suit to keep warm – and said, "Mr. Kirkland, it took a only a few days to complete, but it was worth the effort. I think you'll love it."

"Excellent, Ms. Boston," Kirkland said. "So what concept have you done?"

"With the four pairs of men's jeans you gave us to work with," she explained, "we've recruited four male models from an agency who could fit all the pairs, and show them from both views." She introduced the ad to them. "We photographed one model at a time, first from the front view to show what type of button and fly the jeans have, then the all-important back view to see how the jeans will fill out the rear. We understand that the rear is what customers largely care about when buying a new pair of jeans."

"Excellent techniques!" Kirkland complimented. "But can you explain the skin showing above the jeans? Having the models wearing shirts would've been more appropriate."

"That was my idea, sir," Gerinna admitted. "They were originally wearing shirts, but I made them take them off. I know this makes it look like something of a Calvin Klein ad, but I thought it'd be a good idea to show off the jeans with some kind of sex appeal, so that the person wearing the jeans would feel like one of those sexy wranglers or drifters, to put a little bit of that Texas pride you like to incorporate into the product. Basically make the wearer feel sexy whenever they put the jeans on."

"I was skeptical about that at first," Valerie added, "but then I realized that jeans models posing shirtless have been seen in the Sears and JC Penney catalogues for around twenty years or so now, so I decided it was a better idea."

Kirkland thought it over, then said, "Well, I would feel comfortable if they were all wearing cowboy shirts, or something of the like. The lack of conservativism really deters away from the target age group – 30 to 60."

Valerie began to mentally panic. If he took this over the positions of jeans as main reason, it would mean her first rejection.

"But you have captured the main idea of how jeans are supposed to look," he continued. "And Ms. Donalds mentioned the sex appeal of the product, which does bring out the attractiveness to capture the eye – although it would be the eye of those younger than the age group minimum."

"Actually, sir," Mr. Lancer said, "I think the skin is a nice touch, and if enough younger people are drawn into it, it could mean the opportunity to expand your market to the 18 to 30 crowd."

"Excellent observation, Mr. Lancer." Kirkland positioned himself in front of the billboard to take a picture. "I'll accept the ad for myself, but I'm going to call a meeting to the head of staff about this. If I receive enough votes, I'll make it final."

Valerie and her team accepted this. As the client left, she looked at the ad again. She thought of Sundown, and decided he'd love a pair of Texas Prides for Christmas. _Maybe he'd look best in the brown ones_, she thought. Then she prayed that this ad would be accepted.

* * *

Back at the workplace, Teresa gave Valerie a message as she walked in. "We got a call while you were out, from the Children's Hospital. They wanted to speak exclusively with you." 

"Really?" she asked. Then she thought of her interview with Whitney Morgan. _The daytime staff must've watched me talk about Jeremy_, she thought, and became excited. Now was her chance to tell the world, and especially Tom's family, that shaking a baby for whatever reason was wrong. She checked her watch. It was less than ten minutes until noon. She said to Teresa, "I'll call them back at quarter after one. They must be on their way to lunch right about now."

"And Bulletproof Vess called here just minutes after you left," Teresa added. "Police Chief Irons has decided to call off the investigations of your lovers who killed your husband."

Valerie immediately became happy, and grinned like a child eating ice cream. Chief Irons had seen her ex-husband as the monster she knew he'd been. She wanted to scream delightfully, but was worried about attracting unnecessary attention. So she just said, "That's wonderful. I knew what they did to Tom was just. You didn't include that in your memo, did you?" Before the secretary could answer, Valerie immediately started talking again. "Oh, who cares? The important thing is, I won't have to worry about those I care about being in jeopardy anymore. Thanks, Teresa, you just made my morning."

She decided to celebrate her good news with some non-career-related work. In her office, she turned on her laptop, and activated her radio play for JEWEL-FM. She had twenty-five pages of writing so far. She hadn't worked much on it since she was assigned the airline promotion video. She scrolled to the end to read where she left off. The scene where her pregnant character was in labor, where she had a lot of breathing and panting and screaming. She decided it was now time for her to see the baby's head.

She worked feverishly for a few more minutes, until the baby was born, then her protagonist kissing her lover who had helped. She planned to working on her side project through lunch hour. Maybe eat at her desk. She had done this before when working on ads through lunch. It would be a great way to avoid anyone who was disgusted with her interview, and may have been enraged by Teresa's memo about it.

Suddenly, when she completed seven more pages, she noticed her laptop screen being lowered. She looked up to see Donna Grayson glaring at her. Valerie looked defensive, thinking Donna and the others wanted to talk to her about her interview.

"I was wondering where you were when you didn't show up to the lunch room," Donna said. "You sure made an ass out of yourself on television last night!"

"I made an ass out of myself?" Valerie repeated. "What, for telling the truth about my son, saying I'm responsible for raising him with lots of love and _patience_! For telling how my husband was an asshole who deserved to die? I'll have you know that the police chief decide to let Sundown and Highway off for police brutality."

"Oh, boo!" Donna objected. "Those arrogant father killers deserved to lose their badges and guns, and you know it!"

"Father killers!" Valerie repeated. "_Father killers!_ Listen to yourself, will you! Tom Boston was not a father at all, never mind an involved one. How many damn times must it take before it gets into that almighty head of yours?"

Donna was getting increasingly frustrated. "You don't get it, do you? Your son acts out of control, whether you want to admit it or not! Dammit, you need to take charge of him right now, stop using the Shaken Baby Syndrome as an excuse for his behavior, stop denying that you have problems with him, and start getting corporal with the discipline! You're not making it easy for me or anyone else, you know. My God, I'm _still_ trying to get my kids to listen to me and respect me, and not give me attitude every time I tell them to do their chores and homework!"

Valerie folded her arms. "Here's something you may want to know," she said. "When I go to my sister's house to get my son, he always greets me with a hug and an 'I love you, Mom.' You're always yelling at your kids, bragging about slapping them around, and using your corporal behaviors to brainwash the staff. You and Kim on that last part! All your kids must hate you."

"I'm only trying to keep my kids from ending up dead or in jail! Which _will_ happen to Jeremy very soon if you don't stop being so lenient! You can't tell me that he's not bright enough to think about doing drugs or drinking!"

"He knows the consequences of both," Valerie insisted. "He's been exposed to the PSA's when he was younger. Dr. Grenoble said that Jeremy and others like him learn through media exposure."

"Your doctor is a load of shit!" Donna blasted. "First of all, you can't learn anything from TV, it rots a child's brain! Especially children like yours! And the violence, profanities and sex they get exposed to, this is why our kids are so out of control! I was so mad watching that interview last night, I threw the remote _and_ my coffee mug at my TV! Tell me, Val, what the hell do these so-called 'experts' know about parenting? Because you seem to be submitting to it like you have no opinion of your own! And here's mine – spanking a mentally disabled child like Jeremy _will _send him a clear message of what's right from what's wrong, which he is fully capable of learning, _and you know both_!" She pounded on her desk three times with those last three words. "I'd start with that if I were you." She furiously walked from the office.

Immediately, Valerie lifted up her monitor, saved her radio play, and started typing a report about her conservation with Donna. She quoted everything Donna told her; the harsh words would stay with her for days. There wasn't a word about Teresa's memo, though. She knew she was going to stay in her office for now – maybe until everyone else has left today. She'd probably be safe in there.

She heard a more militant voice calling her name from outside. She could only guess who wanted to confront her _this_ time. She saw Kim come into her office, standing in front of her desk, looking equally unimpressed.

"Valerie, I saw your disgraceful interview last night," Kim said. "That doctor you had back in Parrish, did she actually go to medical school or a damn clown college! I couldn't believe all those special treatment methods she was giving out in regards to children like your son! I turned it off before those C.O.P.S. lovers of yours started into their praises about you."

"I could tell you would," Valerie replied sarcastically.

"I'm not going to repeat myself on the issue of disciplining your son, I might as well be talking to myself," Kim said. "But one thing did concern me, an issue my daughter brought up. If your husband was so hell-bent on not having children, then why the hell didn't you go along with it?"

Valerie looked shocked, her eyes as big as saucers. "Excuse me?" she asked. "Why _didn't _I go along with it! Has it ever occurred to you that maybe I wanted a family of my own?"

"Which you accomplished out of your own will," Kim assumed. "And also to appease your parents? Pretty pathetic. Now, I'm proud of the fact that I had three of my own, but really, if you and your husband agreed on no children–"

"I did NOT agree on no children!" Valerie screamed. "I knew I wanted them from the moment I got close to my niece and nephew! And if you say anything about keeping my knees together, I will take it down indefinitely!" She lowered her monitor again so Kim wouldn't see it.

"But if your husband's business was that more important, then you should've taken that into consideration, and at least gotten your tubes tied. Like I said before, if you had any respect for your husband–"

"I don't want to hear about respect for Tom! That man was a cold, unfeeling asshole who always put his own wishes before those of the people around him! Your husband may have been no prize either, but at least he'd never think of another human life as a life-altering burden!"

Kim rolled her eyes. "Fine, Valerie. But you wouldn't be dealing with any mental problems from your son if you'd never had him to begin with. And speaking of which, can you tell me what would make you and your family label young Jeremy as being 'mentally retarded?' Now I understand why you refuse to be harsh and strict with him, given how often it was used about him in that interview. I think that in order for you to discipline him properly, you need to get rid of that label – it can't possibly be all true to begin with – and start thinking of him as a normal child. Many psychologists believe that's what they strive for from their parents. That said, I will ignore Teresa's memo, and continue to hound you about this until you comply. I don't know what brought about that sudden change of heart from her."

Valerie slammed her hands on her desk. "If you don't get out of my office _right now_, I will walk into Lancer's or Sussex's, and repeat this disgusting lecture to one of them!" Kim got her most angry, but knew Valerie would take this to the bosses if she slapped her. So she walked away in a huff, just like Donna did.

Angrier, Valerie lifted her monitor again, and added Kim's speech to the report. "Hopefully, this will be it for these two," she said. "I don't want to quit or move to another agency."

After she printed it out, she looked at Teresa's memo from the Children's Hospital. She was now eager to see what they wanted. She dialed their number, and seconds later, a woman with red-orange hair, around mid-thirties, answered.

"Yes, this is Valerie Boston from Lancer and Sussex Advertising Agency," she replied. "I'm just returning a call left by your establishment."

"Ah, yes, Ms. Boston, we've been expecting your call," the woman said. "Dr. Neil Taylor, the head of our disability and handicap ward, wants to work with you and your company for a public service announcement. Here, I'll page him."

A few minutes later, she saw a thin man in glasses on her telephone screen. He had to be in his mid-forties, but he looked younger despite the bald scalp and thinning brown hair. "Dr. Taylor?" she said. "This is Valerie Boston from Lancer and Sussex. I'm returning the call you left this morning. I understand there is some business you wish to do with us."

"Yes, I managed to see you being interviewed on Whitney Morgan's primetime talk show last night," Dr. Taylor said. "I was fascinated with the way you passionately talked about your son, and him living with Shaken Baby Syndrome amidst your husband's abuse. I applaud you for finding the courage to leave."

"Thank you, doctor," Valerie replied.

"Several months back, you brought young Jeremy in for a severed arm," Dr. Taylor explained, "and in the form you filled out, you revealed that you worked at Lancer and Sussex, and gave us your contact number. I'm assuming you don't have a business card. Anyway, after a conversation with the head of the hospital, I've decided that we could use your services for a public service announcement commercial promoting Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness. You and your son would make the perfect spokespeople."

Valerie thought of her interview again, and decided that she partially expected it. "Is that so?" she asked. "Well, I'd love to. I'll have to inform my employers. They're going to be thrilled."

"I'd like to meet with you tomorrow morning at around ten o'clock to discuss what we plan to do, and what we'll be expecting from you," Dr. Taylor said. "We already plan to have you star in the commercial with your son, telling the viewers about the consequences of him being shaken like he was. That will teach people about shaking babies even once. The rest, we'll explain at the meeting."

"Yes, that's a great idea," she agreed. "Actually, I already completed a billboard project for Texas Pride men's jeans, and we're still awaiting the final verdict. Ten tomorrow morning sounds perfect to me." She opened her day planner and jotted it down. "Shall I bring Jeremy to work with me?"

"Please do," Dr. Taylor answered. "I must get a good physical picture of the consequences."

She ended her conversation shortly after, and printed her report. She handed it to Teresa for proofreading, then went to inform her bosses about the Children's Hospital meeting.

* * *

That evening, Valerie was looking through her old photo albums, deciding what to take to work with her. Pictures of her and Tom on their honeymoon, and in the years before they had Jeremy. She kept from feeling depressed, thinking she should've either thrown them away, or cut Tom's image out of them. But she had to go through them; her bosses and client had to know what they looked like, so they could audition suitable actors. 

"This commercial is based on _your_ life, woman," she told herself in fighting her tears.

Her telephone rang, and she said, "Finally, some company." She checked the ID to find the name was unknown, but the number was 875-9606.

"Is that a cell number?" she wondered aloud, but answered anyway. She saw Barricade's image on the video screen.

"Barricade?" she said. "Barricade, hi. I'm guessing you're on your cell phone."

"Yeah, I'm just standing outside the headquarters," he answered. "My shift just ended, and I was thinking maybe I'd come right over to see you. Are you doing anything right now?"

"Nothing that important," she said. "Well, I'm just going through some old pictures of Tom and me. The Children's Hospital wants to feature Jeremy and me in a commercial promoting Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness."

He smiled. "That's wonderful. Maybe it will help stop the criticism if Whitney Morgan's interview didn't."

She rolled her eyes. "It worked for some people, but unfortunately, it didn't hit the people it was supposed to help. I'll explain it all when you get here."

"I'll be there in around fifteen minutes or so, okay? See you then."

She hung up, collected the pictures she took from her album, filed them away in her briefcase. She put the album away in the wall unit, in the small bookshelf beside the TV.

She went downstairs to Jeremy's recreation room. He was just finishing his spelling homework. Sloppy, of course, but it looked readable to her. And most of the words were correct too, just a few misspellings she pointed out. She stayed until he finished, then said, "Honey, don't forget, I'm taking you to work tomorrow for the meeting with the hospital. And Barricade just called, he's going to be here in a few minutes."

She brought his chair out and took him upstairs. "You need to have a bath, mister. I'll see if Barricade can help me with you when he gets here."

When the doorbell rang, and Valerie let Barricade in, he kissed her and said, "So, that interview did nothing to help your co-workers, did it? How did everyone react?"

"First, the sort-of good news that I forgot to tell you," she said. "We put up our billboard for the Texas Pride Jeans Company, and while our client liked it, he's taking it back to his company, so we'll have to wait a couple of days before he gives us our final word."

"Mace and I managed to catch a glimpse of it while driving towards an assignment," he said. "I thought the 'shirts off' idea was a little bit sexy for something like jeans for the older man. Do you think that audience will buy it?"

Valerie's expression changed. "Gee, so glad you guys liked it," she said sarcastically. "Actually, Mr. Lancer said that ad would be an opportunity for Texas Pride to appeal to the under-30 buying crowd. Expanding the market will be a great topic at the meeting."

"That'd be great," Barricade replied. "So, what did all those pissed-off co-workers say about the interview? Tell me everything."

She started with her conversation with Edwin. "His wife, the supposed brilliant psychologist, said the same thing Tom's uncle said that night at the White Apple Palace, about Jeremy not being spanked is making him an outsider. All that same crap about how spanking can give him a sense of normalcy. I'm so tired of hearing it." She asked if Barricade wanted a milkshake or an egg crème, and he chose egg crème. She went into the kitchen.

She continued with Edwin's comments about Jeremy's school, and how he thought it was preventing the boy from functioning properly in society, and that public school would be a better choice. "Public school wouldn't change anything. Oh, I could've enrolled him in Brian and Tyler's school, but he'd just be teased even more by various groups of bullies, and those two poor boys would be suspended all the time for fighting." She came out with two full mugs. "Of course, I'd be in there all the time with the O'Malley and Raines family, saying they were just defending Jeremy. But I don't think I could handle it. Longarm and Elise wouldn't be able to deal with it. Neither would Blackbelt and Cindy. I'd probably have to take him out before Christmas vacation, and keep him with Karen until I could send him to the handicapped school. So yeah, I think I did the right thing."

She brought out the egg crèmes as she went into Donna. She began with the "making an ass out of herself" comments, then brought up her reaction to Sundown and Highway being let off. "Father killers, and that the shooting should've ended their law enforcement careers! As if Tom deserved a 'father of the year' award." Then, all her accusations, directed at both mother and son. "She basically said the same garbage about Shaken Baby Syndrome being no excuse, that Jeremy was just out of control, and that I'm not firm enough with him, blah blah blah. She said that Jeremy is perfectly capable of learning right from wrong. Bullshit! Then, she started comparing him to her kids, and said that if I don't do to Jeremy what she does with her kids, Jeremy will end up dead or in prison soon. Bullshit again! Who would arrest a mentally disabled child, who wouldn't think of drinking, overdosing, or shooting up heroin?"

"Did you tell her what Dr. Grenoble said about Jeremy learning from those PSA's?" Barricade asked.

"She replied that it's basically horseradish, like there's no such thing as educational TV, and used the clichéd excuse of it rotting one's brain. Then all this shit about violence in the media and how she blames it for our kids being bad." She rolled her eyes as far back as they would go, and sipped from her mug.

"Dare I ask about Kim?"

"She wasn't as bad as I expected, but she was wondering why I had Jeremy to begin with, saying I wouldn't be going through any of this if I never had him. She also commented on how many times 'mentally retarded' was used. At least she figured out why I refuse to put my hand on him. But she thinks I should drop that label so I can do so. Yeah, drop the 'retarded' label when he was declared it, good idea! All this from her damn daughter, who should've kept her yap shut!"

She excused herself and went into the living room, to see if Jeremy was listening. He was looking through his spelling book, but he was frowning. "Oh, sweetie," she said, "I'm sorry you had to hear all that again. Bad enough you had to hear me talk to Auntie Karen."

Barricade looked frustrated when she came back to the table. "Didn't anyone learn from watching the show last night?"

"Gerinna Donalds, she's got two teen boys of her own, she apologized to me for any wrongdoing as the billboard went up this morning," Valerie replied. "And as I was going for coffee break this afternoon, at least fifteen other parents apologized. They even said that the show educated them on Jeremy's syndrome. But then there were others. Michael Hammer and Joe DiTorino – they were two of the other instigators on the Breath For Life project, remember – they looked as nasty as Donna did. Michael said he would still yell at Jeremy, and hit him with a switch to keep him in line. He wished this could be a call-in show, just so he could say that last night. Joe threw his coffee mug at the TV and started screaming in Italian at some point in the show. He called Dr. Grenoble and me 'idealistic idiots,' and said I'd be taken more seriously at work if I, 'stopped submitting to bleeding-heart liberal assholes.' Donna used that submitting crack on me, too, and also suggested that I had no opinion of my own. Thank God I never saw Linda there. Mr. Sussex overheard Michael and Joe's lectures, and started berating them right there in the room." She gulped down some of her egg crème.

"So, tell me about this new project you have to work on now," Barricade said.

Valerie smiled and explained, "I returned a call to a Dr. Neil Taylor; he handles the disability ward at the Children's Hospital. He saw our interview with Whitney Morgan last night, and wants to put me and Jeremy in a commercial promoting Shaken Baby Syndrome, and spread the message about shaking."

"That's wonderful. Do you have a concept yet?"

"No, but I'm guessing he wants to drape me and Jeremy in a black background while I explain my hardships, and in between, dramatizations of Tom abusing our baby and me. I've been going through pictures of us, for a guide to find authentic-looking actors." She looked at Jeremy again. "Oh, that reminds me, I have to take Jeremy to work tomorrow. Would you like to help me give him a bath?"

"Actually, why don't we make it like last time, and I can give him a bath myself," Barricade suggested.

Valerie laughed. "You're just eager to bond with Jeremy as much as you can, are you?" she asked, and went to run the bathwater. "I'll just stand outside and watch if you'll need any help, okay?"

She went to get a pair of pajamas, and lay out his outfit for the next day, while Barricade undressed Jeremy. When she came back to the bathroom, Jeremy was already splashing as the shirtless Barricade soaped up the boy's shoulders and back. She watched, thinking she'd made her decision already.

* * *

Before Valerie came into the conference room the next morning, Mr. Sussex was lecturing the team members he'd recruited for the Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness project. Donna, Michael and Joe, from the infomercial Valerie worked on. Except Cindy would be working with them instead of Elise, and Kim had been selected to manage. 

"Now," he said, "this is a commercial promoting Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness, so you will be interacting with Valerie's son. During our meeting with Dr. Taylor, there may be times when Jeremy will start moving around in his seat, yelling out things, and tune out of attention. You will keep your hands and unsolicited advice to yourselves. And there will be times where Jeremy will act up during filming, jumping all over the set, and heaven knows what else. It may even take most of the day to film the scenes with Valerie and Jeremy alone. If I learn from Valerie or Cindy that you spanked or hit Jeremy at any time, or did anything to upset Valerie, someone will be walking out of here without a job. Is this all clear?"

Kim just gave her boss an icy stare. "How about you stop nagging us, see that Valerie needs help with Jeremy, and tell her to do something with that kid?" she wanted to say.

Minutes later, Valerie came in with Jeremy, the boy babbling quite loudly like a toddler. Except for Cindy, her co-workers were already unnerved.

"Dear God," Donna moaned, "Don't tell me that boy will be behaving like that throughout the explanation."

"Donna!" Mr. Sussex warned. "That's exactly the type of thing I don't want on this assignment!"

"Well, can't Valerie tell that boy to stay settled?" Kim objected.

"It's part of the syndrome," Valerie informed her. "Dr. Taylor will inform you that. I take it you never did any research."

Mr. Sussex turned to Valerie and explained Kim's presence. "I know it's your personal project, and logically, you should lead," he said. "But I wasn't impressed with that memo you gave me this afternoon, shortly after you told me about your phone call. I gave Kim this assignment when I lectured her and Donna about it. And besides, we'd already gotten an acceptance from Starlight Airlines that morning for a promotion she worked on."

At precisely ten o'clock, Dr. Taylor came in, blue shirt, red tie and green pants. Mr. Sussex introduced his team except for Valerie. Michael and Joe found handshaking to be awkward; they were distracted by Jeremy's continuous babble. After Dr. Taylor sat and introduced himself, he began:

"As Mr. Sussex may have informed you, this purpose of this commercial is to spread awareness of Shaken Baby Syndrome. Now, Shaken Baby Syndrome is a lifelong condition in which the child shows various signs and symptoms of being shaken violently by another person. These symptoms can include weak muscles in the neck, resulting in the inability to hold one's head up; massive injuries and bleeding to the brain, and mental and physical disorders. Brain injuries can affect areas such as learning and memory, bodily and mobility functions, speech, language and so on. Currently, America has one-and-a-half thousand cases of this annually. It's estimated that 25-30 of small shaking victims die from the resulting consequences. The rest survive with problems that last a lifetime, and the survivors don't live very long lives. We want to show the public that this is unacceptable, and that shaking a baby is a form of child abuse.

"This is what I want to see in the commercial. As you may understand, I picked Valerie Boston over here, because of what she's gone through with it, and all that she said when she was on _Eye on Empire City_ the other night. It's quite understandable that she can't discipline her child like a parent should. If you yell at him to stop a certain behavior, or use physical contact to make him listen, it won't work. He'll either cry or scream to retaliate." He suddenly heard Jeremy singing and screaming incoherently, while moving his head from side to side. "And Jeremy here is demonstrating just some of the effects of the syndrome right now." When Jeremy stopped moving his head, he began to squirm and bounce around in his chair. Donna, Michael, Joe and Kim all stared at him and Valerie, unimpressed that she wasn't doing anything.

"You will be given access to ECTV studios, where they will put Valerie on a set designed just for shooting commercials like this," Mr. Sussex said, "as well as camera robots to capture any dramatizations. You will be given today and Friday to come up with a concept, film and edit it, to be presented at the hospital Friday evening. Any questions or comments?"

Valerie raised her hand and said, "I have a pretty good idea as to what will be an effective concept." She opened her briefcase and gave Kim the pictures she chose. "Kim, these are pictures of Tom and me from when Jeremy was a baby. You can use these as guides to find suitable actors for the shaking and hospital scenes."

Mr. Sussex looked at Kim, Donna, Joe and Michael again. He warned them, "And remember, given how you've been with Valerie towards her parenting, you people are on very thin ice. Like I said, if I learn of any wrongdoing through her or Cindy, those responsible will be fired."

Outside the conference room, Donna, Joe and Michael were all too angry to talk to Valerie. Kim was angry, too, but knew she had to stay professional. So she said, "Okay, now everyone can meet in my office, and we'll have a brainstorm meeting."

"What's the point?" Valerie asked. "Now, I know this will sound cliché, but there's only one way to spread awareness about Shaken Baby Syndrome. Have me talk to the camera about what happened in my marriage, and what I'm dealing with now, and have Jeremy come up to me later in the commercial, with melodramatic scenes of baby shaking and hospital trauma in between – all in black and white to enhance the moodiness."

"Oh, come on," Michael criticized. "People have seen that in awareness commercials thousands of times."

"And yet, it works the most effectively," Valerie reminded him. "There won't even be any need for a script."

Kim was convinced, and gave the pictures to Donna. "Here," she said. "Study these photographs, then go out and find two people who fit these physical descriptions, for the drama scenes. Thinking of that, Michael, I want you to go out and buy a crib and a life-like baby doll. I want to start filming those scenes this afternoon."

"And I'll write up cue cards for Valerie to read aloud in her isolation scenes," Cindy volunteered. She turned to Valerie. "I watched and took notes during the whole interview, just for a time like this."

"And I'll make some calls, first to the TV studio, then to the Children's Hospital to request permission to film there. Neither Dr. Taylor nor Mr. Sussex mentioned this. And where can we film the 'family fight' scenes?"

"Let's do it at my house," Valerie suggested. "We can put this crib in my bedroom. It'll look realistic; some parents put their cribs in their rooms for easier access."

"That sounds like a good idea," Cindy agreed.

Fine," Kim said. "Then let's hop to it." They split up, Valerie accompanying Cindy to her office.

During the whole assignment process, it seemed as if Jeremy's syndrome had been overactive. While Cindy was writing up the cue cards, he was either moving his head around or babbling out nonsense. Valerie couldn't really get him to be quiet. It took fifteen minutes with this distraction, but she was able to get through it nonetheless.

And while he was quiet and still on the way to the studio, his hyperactivity started up again as soon as they got to the commercial filming set. A small room draped in black, with a single chair Valerie was supposed to sit in while talking to the camera. Kim, Joe and Cindy showed up then, and they weren't pleased to hear Jeremy singing aloud nonsensically.

Joe looked at Valerie and demanded, "Is there any way you can shut that kid up!"

She glared at him, then sat Jeremy down on her lap. She brought his face towards hers and said, "Jeremy, do you think you can try to be quiet for the next fifteen minutes, while I talk to the TV about your syndrome?" He just hummed and moved his head around a little, like a person who was "buzzed" from drinking.

This proved to be impossible. Although the others knew Jeremy was to appear at the end of the filming, he was restless in the room. He was babbling, shouting and moving his head around non-stop. It proved to be really distracting to the others. After three takes, Kim started to grab Jeremy's arms and shake him.

"We are trying to film a commercial here, young man!" she shouted. "You sit down and be quiet until it's your turn!" She forced him down on the floor, and he started to cry.

Valerie looked horrified and shouted, "Kim! That is no way to handle a child living with Shaken Baby Syndrome!" She picked him up and cuddled him for comfort.

"See, that's exactly what we're talking about!" Kim criticized. "I'm trying to discipline him to quiet him down, and you come to comfort him!"

"Well, you don't clutch him and force him to sit on a hard surface!" Cindy objected. "You should be ashamed of yourself. Didn't you do any research? Children like him are very delicate!"

Kim got sarcastic. "Oh, I'm sorry, I guess I never researched any proper _discipline techniques_ when I was scouring the Internet! Actually, I couldn't find the discipline section, so I'm applying the same methods I used with my sons. I hope you don't mind, Valerie."

"I do mind very much, thank you!" Valerie spat. "I know what I'm doing here, and I'd prefer if you didn't do my job for me!"

"Assuming you were doing your job as a parent to begin with," Joe interjected.

"Oh, shut up!" It took Valerie ten minutes to calm Jeremy down.

When it was quiet again, they did another take. Valerie looked and sounded very solemn as she read from Cindy's cue cards. She said, "My husband left me while I was pregnant, and didn't come home until our son was one month old. Upon seeing him the first time, he threw him down on the floor and again into his crib. It wasn't long before he started shaking him to get him to be quiet. And I couldn't do anything to stop it. He shook him so often, my son and I became very familiar at the hospital after a short time. He survived, but was declared mentally retarded as a toddler. But then, my husband started to assault my child on his chronic anger, which made it worse. It's not his fault that he can't eat very much, do very much, or do well in school. But no, he even assaulted me for trying to protect him in all this. Now look what I have to deal with." She was pausing at every sentence, as Cindy switched the cue cards.

But just as Joe directed Jeremy to go to his mother, the boy gave out an impromptu shriek, like a fire alarm. It startled even Valerie and Cindy. Jeremy began to hop around the room while shrieking. With cool thinking, Valerie got up to get her son, but Joe got to him first. He clutched the boy's shoulders and shouted, "What was that screaming for, huh! What is the reason for this behavior?"

"It's part of the syndrome, Joe!" Valerie called. "He's probably just restless today. He was probably too excited about this to sleep."

"Dammit, Valerie, don't make excuses for him!" Kim insisted. Valerie attempted to retrieve Jeremy, but Kim held her back. He kept on screaming and bouncing, and she watched horrifically as Joe pulled Jeremy's pants down and swatted his rear over and over.

"Joe, stop it!" Valerie screamed. Kim tried to restrain her from rescuing Jeremy, but she and Cindy pushed her aside. Valerie picked Jeremy up towards her before Joe could declare himself finished.

"Dammit, Valerie!" he barked. "I was only trying to get him to be quiet once and for all. I was _trying_ to _discipline_ him! Can't you understand that!"

"And since when do we spank, whip and paddle a mentally retarded child and call that discipline?" Cindy retorted. "Why can't _you_ understand that? Jesus Christ, Joe and Kim, this is about spreading awareness about Shaken Baby Syndrome! Your actions towards Jeremy are defeating the purpose!"

"For crissake, Joe, Jeremy obviously couldn't understand the meaning of quiet when Kim was telling him!" Valerie added. "Why the fuck would he understand when _you_ tell him!" She walked out in search of the washrooms.

Cindy just glared at the instigators. "Now see what you've done?" she spat. "You two may be parents yourselves, but you obviously don't know how to handle a child with Shaken Baby Syndrome. It'll be very interesting to see how Mr. Sussex and Dr. Taylor will react to this. How about I take over direction while you work the cue cards, Kim? At least then, you'll be busy enough to not worry about Jeremy! Joe, you just stand off to the side and do nothing for the rest of the assignment." She started out of the room as well. "I'll ask the studio heads if they can bring a comfortable chair for Jeremy to sit on."

She returned just minutes later with a swivel chair from a news office, the gray cushion and highback parts being as soft as a pillow. "This'll keep him comfortable until it's time for him to go on." Just then, Valerie and Jeremy returned from the washroom. Cindy directed Jeremy to his chair, and Valerie sat him down.

"Are you comfortable?" his mother asked. "You just sit there until Cindy tells you to come to me, okay?" Jeremy nodded happily, and started spinning around and laughing.

Kim quickly turned, positioned the chair towards her, and shouted at Jeremy, "Stop that laughing and be quiet!" He immediately began to cry.

"Stop it, Kim!" Cindy barked as Valerie got up to comfort him again. "Don't you get it! Children like Jeremy don't respond well to things if you yell at them!" Kim glared at them both, and Cindy sighed. "Look, any background noise that we pick up from Jeremy, we can get rid of in editing." Just then, Kim's cell phone rang.

The other women gathered around her, and they saw Donna on the video screen. "I'm outside the Empire City College of the Arts," she said. "I managed to get two young students from the drama program, who look exactly like Valerie and her ex-husband from the pictures."

"That's great," Kim said. "I'll call Michael to see if he got the props."

Valerie added, "Take them to my house, 181 Turin Lane. We'll shoot the domestic scenes there, like we agreed."

"Will do," Donna said. "See you there."

Kim hung up and called Michael next. But just as they saw his image, he immediately said, "I managed to pick up an inexpensive crib from Wal-Mart, one of those 'easy to set up' models, and I also got a Life-Like Lukey dolls from Toy Town."

"Take them to Valerie's house," Kim said, and gave him Valerie's address.

"See if you find a big enough place in my room for the crib," Valerie added. "Down the hallway from the front hall, farthest room on the left. Look for a purple bedspread and pillows, and matching wallpaper."

When she hung up, Kim looked at Valerie strangely and asked, "Did you and your husband really keep the crib in your room when Jeremy was a baby?"

Valerie shook her head. "No, but there's not enough room in Jeremy's bedroom to put it, with the bed Karen got for him, and his dressers and shelves – which will all look weird in the commercial."

While Valerie went back to her chair, Cindy said, "Okay, people, this will be the last time we shoot these scenes, so Kim, be sure you get the cue cards right! Any noise Jeremy makes that's captured on film, I'll run that by Sussex first, and if he doesn't approve, I'll have the audio editors take out. Meantime, _nobody lays a hand on Jeremy_, is that clear!"

"Joe and I are telling Sussex that you took over our duties," Kim said.

Valerie, remembering how cruel Joe and Kim were to her son, spoke even more solemnly than before. Off the set, Jeremy was spinning around in his car and babbling to himself, the cameras picking it up in the background. When Valerie got to the assault part, Cindy took him from his chair, holding his hand until she said the line, "Now look what I have to deal with."

She let go of Jeremy, and he trotted to his mother. She placed him on her lap to show the camera. She went from solemn to grave as she said, "This is what happens when a baby is shaken. Never let it happen to your child. Because what will you do then?"

Cindy waited a few seconds, then said, "And cut! That's great!" She checked her watch, it was a little past twelve-thirty. She turned to Joe and Kim. "Now that wasn't so bad, was it? We could've completed this half an hour ago if you hadn't mistreated Jeremy."

"We _could've_ completed this earlier if Jeremy had cooperated and kept quiet during the filming!" Kim insisted.

Valerie and Cindy just took the boy and walked out. They decided to break for a quick lunch. On the way from the restaurant, they talked about the incident report Cindy already planned to write.

* * *

The women agreed to drop Jeremy off at his school for the afternoon, but Valerie had to explain Jeremy's lateness to the front office; it was quarter after one. "Thanks for allowing Jeremy to take the morning off to be in the commercial," she concluded. "The project means a lot to the both of us." 

Diane Lancaster, the school principal, smiled and said, "No problem, Mrs. Boston. And thank you for calling us yesterday to tell us about it. Despite its meaning to spread awareness, we would've marked Jeremy down as truant if we hadn't known."

Valerie was pleased to see all the traffic parked outside her house when they arrived. "Ah, they're getting ready to film the domestic scenes right now," she said. But when she and Cindy stepped inside, they witnessed Kim talking to Donna and Michael about Jeremy's disruptions at the studio, and how Valerie, "did nothing to curb his bratty behavior."

Cindy grabbed her friend's arm to restrain her. "Don't get her attention, Val," she said. "It'll only get worse."

They waited until Kim finished talking, then as Joe directed the actors to the bedroom, Donna and Michael confronted Valerie in the living room.

"So," Donna said, "I hear Jeremy was quite the terror when you were filming at the studio."

"Bullshit!" Valerie spat. "Yes, mentally disabled children of Shaken Baby Syndrome tend to act out a lot, but they are not terrors. What Jeremy did there obviously couldn't be helped. "He was restless from excitement and bored from just standing there waiting."

"Couldn't be helped, couldn't be helped, couldn't be helped," Donna repeated like a broken record. "It's time you started listening to what you're saying about him. You're using the same excuse over and over just to avoid giving him a badly-needed smack on the head. Let me tell you something, bitch – I was not impressed when I heard Joe was spanking him for his final outburst. _You_ should've done that, instead of comforting him afterwards!" She turned to Cindy. "And _your_ response was to put him in a comfortable chair until it was time to go on?" She poked at her head. "What the hell is going on up there?"

"I was just coming up with a simple solution to make Jeremy happy after Valerie _stopped the spanking!_" Cindy said while gritting her teeth. "I know none of you responded very well to her interview this week. My God, you spent both of Wednesday's coffee breaks bitching about it. But Dr. Taylor is right. Valerie can't discipline Jeremy like a parent normally should when children refuse to listen to reason."

"Donna, don't think I haven't forgotten about what you, Joe and Michael did with our Breath For Life assignment," Valerie said. "That's why he selected the three of you for this commercial project. He wanted this to make you see the errors of your ways with your criticism. It doesn't help that you're turning this into our last project together. You saw how Jeremy was at this morning's meeting, how Dr. Taylor said he was demonstrating the syndrome effects. Are you questioning what he knows about this, like he's some idiot?"

"Look, Valerie, I didn't agree with what Dr. Grenoble said on that damn show," Donna retorted, "and I sure as hell don't agree with Dr. Taylor. Oh, I thought about asking him about discipline techniques, but we were all under Mr. Sussex's watchful eye." She rolled her eyes.

They didn't even notice Joe, Kim and the actors coming out of the bedroom. That group overheard Michael say, "Look, it's very simple, Valerie. That boy needs to be sent a clear message about what will and won't be tolerated under your roof. _You_ pay the bills and mortgage here, _you_ cook the meals, _you_ buy him all the clothes he needs to wear, and so on. It's_ you_ who needs to take charge of his life, and tell him 'no' firmly. And if it takes a hand laid upon him to get that through, then so be it."

Donna added, "If he is as good as you say despite his mental problems – which I don't believe – then why didn't you bring him here to show us?"

Valerie was ready to scream at them, but Cindy said softly, "Don't explode on them. You'll only make them madder, and we can't have you upset and ruining this. Take deep breaths."

She did, and when she was calm, she just spat, "Jeremy is at his school, all right? Originally, I decided that we didn't need him around and in the way for the domestic scenes, to make them look confusing, and if I dropped him off at Karen's, she'd wonder why he wasn't in school to begin with. But now that you mention it, I also didn't want him around to feel your wrath, _Donna_, should he do anything to disrupt the filming here! Kim and Joe have already done enough! Mr. Sussex is already going to hear about the spanking and shouting at the studio. And let's not forget all your comments, which will be fresh in our minds when we get this to a memo sheet. Why should the two of _you_ be in further hot water?"

"I have some opinions, but I plan to take them directly to Mr. Sussex when this is over!" Kim said. "I'll just say that children don't have good judgment skills, and your Jeremy is obviously among the very worst. That's why you need to discipline him properly."

"Shut up!" Cindy barked. "Look, Kim, you may be managing this project, but you have no place to say anything right now. You're all going to be in so much trouble when this is finished."

"And Mr. Sussex won't be happy with you when he hears what you did at the studio, Cindy," Kim reminded her.

"I had to, to keep the peace long enough to finish Valerie's part! And you're going to go down for this, all of you! It'll be Valerie's and my word against yours. Spanking Jeremy to get him to behave, yeah right. You're all going to wish you'd kept those opinions to yourselves!"

They started for the door, but then Valerie said secretly, "Wait, I have a computer in my home office. First room in the hallway on the right. We can close the door and work on our memo there."

"Why, so they can burst in, read our writing and accuse us of lying?" Cindy replied. "No, this would be best done on my computer in my office. Just keep all the memorable arguments in your head."

Valerie agreed, and they went back to the workplace then. She didn't wish to hear the "domestic violence" scenes being filmed in the kitchen, anyway. Those young people acting out would definitely bring her back to the terrible memories. And she knew she wouldn't be needed at the hospital either.

On the way there, she said, "God, I hope one of the C.O.P.S. calls me for a date tomorrow night. I really don't want to be at the presentation."


	27. Get The Message

Chapter 27

Teresa was proofreading Cindy's memo the next morning, her face sullen. "How disgusting," she said. "The day I put out my memo about you, Valerie, Donna told me flat out that she was going to ignore it. At lunch, no less. She asked why I was suddenly siding with you about your parenting. I told her I never said a word about it, just your love life. Thank God Lancer and Sussex were somewhere else when we were talking, they would've surely fired her then."

"I hope they do," Valerie agreed. "I hope they fire that whole damn group, especially Kim. They've got a lot of money invested in this business. I think they last thing they want to do is put cameras in my office, and break rooms, to capture more incidents."

Suddenly, they heard another familiar woman calling Valerie's name. Teresa quickly hid the memo. They turned to see Linda, looking peeved.

"So glad this desk is en route to the coffee room, and so glad Valerie is here," she said. "I looked all over for you late yesterday afternoon, you weren't here! I tried calling you last night, you wouldn't answer the damn phone."

"_You_ tried calling me last night?" Valerie cried. "But my number's not in the phone book." Then, after a thought, "Oh, you hounded Barricade for it, didn't you?"

"Shut your ass up!" Linda barked. "Kim, Joe and I were chatting three-way on the computer last night. They went on and on about Jeremy's misbehavior, and how you did nothing to curb it."

"It was a commercial promoting Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness," Valerie answered. "Jeremy was only displaying the natural symptoms because he was restless most of the morning. And anyway, you tend to the legal side of this business. Never mind this, why would you be remotely interested in any assignment?"

"You call it natural symptoms," Linda said. "The more quality parents call it an excuse to let him act however he wants to. The fact that Kim and Joe were taking charge of him yesterday morning is disgusting! It's bad enough that you vocally objected to Kim yelling at him to be quiet. But to comfort a child who's been spanked? Is your brain on Venus somewhere?"

"I was the one who did most of the stopping," Cindy said. "Whether you want to admit it or not, you don't put your hand on a child like Jeremy to discipline. It doesn't do a damn thing to help. Our client, Dr. Taylor, said so."

"Oh, yes, they told me what _you_ did, Cindy," Linda sneered. "Banishing Joe from directing and making Kim hold your cue cards so she wouldn't touch him. I think that's going all over the workplace now." She turned to Valerie. "As for you, bitch, I hope that when Lancer and Sussex hear about this, they either fire you or make you take parenting classes. You can so smack a mentally retarded child for wrongdoing; this 'doesn't do a damn thing to help' shit is just the doctors siding with these outrageous spanking laws. You know it, I know it, everybody knows it. If you lectured the staff at one of our client businesses about parenting special needs children, and you said that kind of crap, that client would say to the bosses, _'You've just lost yourself a customer until Ms. Boston is fired or made to take parenting classes.'_"

"You lying bitch!" Valerie remarked. "They would not!"

"Well, I certainly would! I wouldn't want to do business with someone who refused to discipline their children." She toned down her anger in attempt to give advice. "Valerie, you shouldn't be afraid to spank and beat Jeremy whenever he gets disruptive and disrespectful, and doesn't listen to you. You just have to do it more often than you would if he were normal. He should be spanked on a regular basis. That's what I told Mr. Sussex when he brought me into his office about you. You can't be his friend, and you certainly can_not_ be both parent and friend to him. That sends confusing and contradictory messages. And that's not parenting. Now you think about that." She continued on to the coffee room, and they waited until she was out of sight.

"Well!" Valerie scoffed like an upper class British woman. "We'll see what Mr. Sussex and Dr. Taylor have to say about that!" She turned to Teresa. "Put that copy of the memo through the paper shredder. Cindy and I will come back in about twenty minutes with a revised document."

"I have my disk in my office," Cindy added.

* * *

Meanwhile, at C.O.P.S. headquarters, Bowzer had been feeling like an outcast. Except during assignments, none of his colleagues had wanted to talk civil to him since he came back from his suspension. Not even Hardtop and Mainframe, whom he'd scared off when they tried to comfort him about losing Valerie. 

His competitors were especially angry. When they'd heard about what he did with Valerie, they were so disgusted, they vowed never to speak with him socially until they felt it was time for an intervention. Today, when Barricade, Highway, Mace and Sundown all checked in together, they saw Bowzer staring lowly at his computer screen, Blitz with his paws on his master's lap for comfort. They huddled immediately.

"Anyone think he's learned his lesson yet?" Mace asked softly.

"I'm thinking he has," Barricade answered. "Look at him, he's obviously stewing in his thoughts about what a jerk he'd been."

"Then I reckon we should tell him how he hurt Valerie," Sundown suggested, "an' teach him a few things about how a lady should be treated. If he shows further remorse an' change, an' tries to apologize to her family, maybe we can persuade the law enforcement community to call off the investigation."

"I like it, but we should take it to Bulletproof first," Highway said. The rest nodded and broke, and went to Bulletproof's office.

When they were allowed to enter, the C.O.P.S. looked at their leader solemnly. Barricade started, "I think Bowzer's showing signs of wanting to improve. He knows what he did was wrong, but perhaps he doesn't realize how much he frightened Valerie. I think maybe it's time for an intervention, to show him how she ought to be treated."

"That might work with Bowzer," Bulletproof agreed. "But I don't know how Irons will react to it. Even if you recorded it on tape, it might do little to convince him. Remember, Bowzer's still being investigated for rape charges, and Irons has said he couldn't contact Valerie." He looked at his phone and picked it up. "I'll see if he's been able to speak to her. You go to Bowzer and talk to him."

The C.O.P.S. did, looking just as solemn with their arms folded. Although Bowzer couldn't really tell what it was for, he knew he had been thinking about Valerie since being suspended. He still couldn't stop. So he said, "Look, I understand now that what I did with Valerie was wrong. But I think only she realizes how I'd been longing to see her. And you can tell I've been longing right now, can't you?"

"Longing for her?" Barricade asked. "Bowzer, what you did was unforgivable. Valerie told me what you did as soon as she came to my house. I was so angry, I couldn't even talk about my vacation much. Then, two days later, Bulletproof called me up, and I asked if what Valerie told me was true. Do you have any idea how shocked I was when he told me yes. Mind you, I had a nice time away, but I couldn't believe I had to come to work at the headquarters the very next day, to fill your shoes! And I don't even have a dog!" He addressed the others. "I know that last part's irrelevant, but still!"

Mace went next. "I may be the hot-headed one of the group," he said, "but I wouldn't _dream_ of doin' to any woman what you did to Valerie. If I call my girl, an' she forgets to call me, I'll just call her right back, not rant an' cry at her. An' if I haven't seen her in awhile, again, I'll call an' ask if she wants to do somethin'. What you did to Valerie that night, I never even did with Nightshade. When I was still in love with her, I wasn't possessive or controllin'. I never acted like I owned Nightshade, and I don't act like I own Valerie. Relationships don't work on ownership."

"Said the man who insisted his purple bouquet belonged in Valerie's bedroom," Barricade and Sundown wanted to say.

"And that's exactly what it looked and sounded like when Bulletproof told us of the incident," Highway said. "Like you were trying to own her, or at least possess her. You actually told Bulletproof that you banged on her door that Saturday night when Sundown and I took her out, and you went crazy when you told that she was out with us? Are you nuts? You knew there was competition among the four of us when you decided to join in. Why the hell did you if you knew you couldn't handle it?"

"I thought I could," Bowzer answered, "and I also never anticipated that you guys would be preoccupying yourselves with her while I got the leftovers. You guys weren't being fair to me. _She _wasn't being fair to me! I never tried to be controlling, I was only trying to make her see that she should be paying a little more attention to me."

"Is that so?" Barricade asked. "Well, some of the more sensitive and aware men would call that control and possessiveness. Valerie told me that you were trying to scare her into being with you more. That's not a good idea, Bowzer. That is being controlling indeed. You should be ashamed at what you did. Really ashamed."

"I am!" Bowzer admitted. "And I was also sorry about what I did. Didn't you hear me calling up Valerie's mom at her say-so, begging for another chance?"

"I'm afraid we were all out," Highway replied. "But we heard from Hardtop about how you angrily refused his and Mainframe's support, curtly saying that you don't want to talk about it. We couldn't tell if you were in tremendous pain for your losses, or just taking it out on them."

"I was in tremendous pain!" Bowzer answered. "I was certainly in no damn mood to talk about it then. And when I wanted to, none of you would talk to me!"

He sighed and continued, "Look, I have a lot or regret for what I did that night. It cost me Valerie yet again. Damn, but I can't take living without her, guys. I wish there was something I could do to get her back again." He looked at the group before him, and noticed Sundown was about to say something. So he said, "Look, I know all that stuff about looking into her eyes, and telling her how much I mean to her. I have done that before, when I thought she cared."

"What I was _goin'_ to say," Sundown interjected, "an' pardon me fer bringin' up the 'back where I come from' thing again, but a gentleman certainly don't treat a lady the way _you_ treated Valerie. If that ain't as bad as the way Tom Boston treated her, it's pretty damned close. Not even a despairin' lovesick fool would go as far as to kidnap his lady, take her to his place, and make her have sex 'cause he's been longin' fer it. If you were trapped in the desert, you wouldn't eat the sand an' dust, reckonin' it was food an' water."

Bowzer just nodded, knowing Sundown was indeed right.

"Now, when you can get time," Barricade said, "I think maybe you should send her an e-mail, inviting Valerie to your house maybe tomorrow night. I think you're serving the morning and afternoon shift that day." Bowzer just nodded again. "So, invite her over, tell her that her mother and sisters are also invited. This can be the perfect way of telling them you're sorry."

Meanwhile, Mainframe had spotted three robberies on her computer screen. After a quick analysis, she suddenly announced, "You may have to put that off for awhile. According to this reading, there are robberies in progress at three banks downtown. All are being committed by small groups of high school students, and they're walking around like zombies."

"Not more hypnotic tapes!" Mace groaned. "Where's it coming from? What's the original school?"

"Lilybrook High School, on Court Island," Mainframe declared.

"I don't know how they could walk all that way," Barricade said, and turned to his group. "Okay, so Mace, Bowzer and I will curb the robberies. Sundown, Highway, you go down to Lilybrook and find out what's causing the hypnosis." They all left the headquarters without a word.

* * *

In her office, Valerie was furiously working on her radio script, while waiting for her next assignment. She kept staring at her phone, hoping that one of the C.O.P.S. would call and ask her out on a last-minute date. She was disappointed that none of her beaux called to arrange something the night before. She was dreading this presentation meeting, and seeing Kim and the others who'd harassed her. 

"Okay, starting Monday, I'm going to ask the bosses for another assignment as soon as I'm finished the old one," she said to herself. "I'm starting to feel like one of those dysfunctional workers."

Several moments later, her phone rang. She'd been mentally practicing what to say to the C.O.P.S.: _"I'd love to go out tonight, but I'll have to check with Mr. Sussex about this evening's presentation meeting. Hopefully, I won't have to go."_ But when she answered, she saw Big Boss on the screen.

"Valerie, pookiekins," he said. "How lovely to see yer lovely face."

"All right, I'm going to have to ask Teresa to ignore your calls to me, Big Boss!" she sighed. "What do you want?"

"Why else would I call?" he asked. "I just wanted to see if yer all freed up tomorrow night. I'll treat ya to dinner, then we'll go dancin' at an exclusive club. Whaddya say, baby?"

"Oh, Big Boss, you've been so good to avoid calling me these past three weeks," she said. "Why start again now?"

"Well, between all my nefarious schemin' and plannin', an' yer work schedule, I've finally found myself some time to take you out, see?"

Valerie started to get extremely frustrated. "No!" she bellowed. "No, no and no! Listen to me very carefully. I don't love you, and I'm not interested in you. I never have and I never will."

"Aw, c'mon," Big Boss began, but then she saw Dr. Badvibes and Buttons McBoomBoom in the background. She started to get infuriated now.

"Valerie, dearie!" Dr. Badvibes called. "Do you like romantic science fiction movies? I'll take you to the theater tomorrow night at eight o'clock. They're showing _Love Life on Venus_."

"Fuck you, Badvibes!" Buttons remarked. "Hey, Valerie, why don't you pop over to my place fer a relaxin' night in? I've got a ton of gangster flicks fer you to choose from."

"Forget it, you two!" Valerie spat. "I do _not_ want to be seen in public or private with either of you! And I don't want to be seen with you either, Big Boss!"

Suddenly, Mr. Lancer knocked on her door and said, "Valerie, Mr. Sussex would like to see you and Cindy in his office now. He received her memo about the Shaken Baby Syndrome commercial."

"Thank you, sir," Valerie said, then returned to the crooks. "Look, I have some free time on Sunday afternoon. I want to be there at your headquarters. We need to have a long, emotional talk!" She hung up and rushed out of her office.

Mr. Sussex's door was open, and she saw Cindy sitting across from him, along with another empty seat. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Just the person I want to talk to most," he said. "I have here another disturbing memo, that Cindy wrote about the commercial for Children's Hospital. Can you confirm this all to be true? Tell me what happened in your own words."

"Gosh, Mr. Sussex, what is there to tell?" Valerie asked. "When I tried to stop Kim from yelling at Jeremy the first time, she said it was because she couldn't find any discipline tips while researching the syndrome on the Internet. So she decided that what she did with her kids while they were growing up, she'll do on him. This was after she forced him to sit on the floor. Don't get me started on Joe. I may sound sarcastic here, but I'm thinking his early remark about shutting Jeremy up was the nicest thing he ever said. Donna and Michael criticized my parenting when we did the scenes at home, as usual, as did Linda this morning at Teresa's desk. Donna had the nerve to tell me that I should've spanked Jeremy when Joe did it! That was the worst!"

"Yes, and I'm equally displeased with Michael and Linda's comments," Mr. Sussex said firmly. He looked directly at Cindy. "Under normal circumstances, Cindy, I would've disciplined you for taking over Kim's duties at the studio, and reassigning everyone when it was clearly her project. But I think this was the bravest thing you could do, in order to get that part completed. You figured out a way to make Jeremy happy, which is exactly what Dr. Taylor will be expecting with the type of concept you had. An infirm lad living life happily, despite the odds that were against him. I would hate to see him looking unhappy on moving film because he was spanked and mistreated off camera. Speaking of which, I'll ask the editing department if this thing is completed. I want to preview it."

He left the women alone in the office, down to the editing room. Minutes later, he returned and said, "They'll try to have it ready before lunch."

Valerie thought back to the day Barricade and Jeremy left for Washington D.C. She said, "Mr. Sussex, didn't you say about three weeks ago that you would fire Kim and Linda and anyone else if you learned about them harassing me again?"

"I'd thought about it, and I wanted to," Mr. Sussex said, "but Mr. Lancer kept persuading me to keep them around, especially Kim. But I don't think I can. While I can't deny that they've been producing some great work here, I cannot allow these antics to continue. Valerie, I don't want you to have a meltdown so bad, that we have to give you paid leave of absence at a time when we'll be needing you."

"Valerie, we rarely see you in the coffee room or the dining hall," Cindy added. "If you don't stay in your office for lunch, you want to go out. You keep working during most breaks, and you shouldn't have to. I know it's to avoid your instigators."

"I'll show this to Mr. Lancer, and we'll have to think of a drastic solution for this mess," Mr. Sussex said. "It's a good thing you didn't cry so much, if ever, or this would've turned into the Breath For Life fiasco. After Lancer sees this, I'll make a copy for the incident files, and fax this original to Dr. Taylor. I'm sure he'll be very interested in what all happened during production."

"One last thing, Mr. Sussex," Valerie said. "I know I'll be expected to come, but am I exempt from the presentation meeting for the commercial?"

He shook his head rapidly. "Oh, of course not, Valerie. I know you and Jeremy don't want to face your harassers, but as the main stars of the commercial, we need you at the hospital as guests of honor for this thing. Can you be there at seven-thirty?"

"Sure thing," she said. Mr. Sussex dismissed both Valerie and Cindy afterwards.

Later, when he went down to editing, he received the finished product on DVD. He watched it himself, taken in by the drama of Valerie telling her story, and the disturbing scenes backing it up. But he was looking out for Jeremy's reaction at the end. There he was, coming onto the camera view looking natural, no painful crying and screaming, no tears that Mr. Sussex noticed. He was satisfied, but he still couldn't let this project group get away with torture.

* * *

At the hospital that evening, Mr. Sussex, Dr. Taylor and Valerie were privately discussing Cindy's memo. They were all in the meeting hall, standing beside a TV and DVD player. The doctor was disgusted at what he'd found out about the production process, and asked Valerie about it. 

"Unbelievable, Ms. Boston, that the project manager would use the same commando-style methods on Jeremy, as if he were an able-bodied person at boot camp," he said. "That is completely wrong. What would possess her to do that?"

"She claimed she couldn't find any tips on how to discipline an SBS-ridden child," Valerie said. "She said she used those same methods on her sons, and possibly worse, when they misbehaved."

"Well, I can safely assume that _she's_ never shaken any of her children," he said. "And neither have any of the other instigators. But I find even those methods questionable. Ms. Masterson is only fooling herself if she thinks she can treat a mentally challenged child like your son that way."

"Some of the other staff actually support these views," Valerie said. "One of them even suggested that this type of discipline would be healthy for Jeremy, so he can be like normal, able-bodied children."

"That theory is a joke, Ms. Boston. I take it most of these people don't know Jeremy all that well, _or_ know what it's like to raise a child of Shaken Baby Syndrome."

"I haven't brought this up with Kim or the others yet," Mr. Sussex said. "I'm planning a private meeting at the agency for tomorrow afternoon, and I'd like you and Valerie to be there. But I won't tell the others until after we're finished with this. So don't say anything to them, okay?" Dr. Taylor and Valerie nodded promises.

Soon, the members of the project group arrived, first Cindy, then all the others came together. Kim had the DVD of the commercial. She started off the presentation by saying, "It's an honor to be meeting with you tonight, and I am pleased to show this important piece that will hopefully help spread the word about Shaken Baby Syndrome, and how it can be prevented."

_You stupid, clueless hypocrite,_ Valerie thought.

"When making a commercial to help spread awareness," Kim continued, "we believe that the best method in doing so is to show the consequences of causing it to begin with. You and Mr. Sussex asked us to feature our own Valerie Boston, and her son, inspired by her television interview. I didn't see the whole thing, but I did listen to Valerie talking about her past, her whirlwind marriage, and her husband repeatedly shaking young Jeremy. I thought of showing dramatic scenes of all that in between her talking about it."

_Which was _my_ idea to begin with, you little liar!_ Valerie thought.

"I believe the 'scaring straight' factors of this shock and melodrama will make parents and caregivers who see this think twice before shaking any child," Kim concluded. "and now, the commercial."

She slid the disc in the player and activated it. Immediately, Dr. Taylor was taken by Valerie somber moodiness as she spoke. The black and white dramatizations of the shaking, the abuse; both child and spousal, and the pleas for medical attention, they all left him feeling breathless. But he was pleased to see the ending, with Jeremy feeling great and happy, and the cards: _Sadly, up to 30 of kids aren't as lucky as the boy_._ 25 to 30 percent of Shaken Baby Syndrome children don't live to their third birthday. Never shake a baby. Never._ Still, when it was over, he looked as if he'd forgotten his speech.

"I don't know what to say," he confessed. "The idea was to make people aware at what shaking can do to a child, and you seem to have delivered. I was feeling horrible for Valerie, her feelings of helplessness and despair, and the way she talked about the effects on her son, I feel she was just pounding it all into my head. And you gave three of the biggest long-term consequences for SBS children who survive infancy."

"All based on my own experience," Valerie said.

"Well, Ms. Masterson, I must say you and your team did a good job with this one. I'll have your company make copies of this commercial, and deliver it to all the TV stations in this city."

Mr. Sussex looked normal at the group celebration, which Cindy and Valerie didn't partake in. None of them would forget the treatment Cindy wrote about. He approached the four others and told them, "Despite your good work in this project, I would like to see all six of you workers in the conference room tomorrow afternoon at one o'clock." He turned to Valerie. "Valerie, you think maybe you can arrange someone to look after Jeremy tomorrow?"

"Are you sure it has to be tomorrow?" she said. "Can't it be first thing Monday? When I picked Jeremy up from Karen's on Thursday, she said something about going to New Jersey to decorate a woman's apartment that day."

"I'm sure you can make arrangements." Mr. Sussex turned to the group again. "And one of you should call Linda Fortense when you get home. Tell her she's invited, too."

They didn't really know what he was talking about, but Kim volunteered, "I'll do it."

When they left the hospital, Cindy approached Valerie and said, "I have an idea. You bring Jeremy over to my house tomorrow, and we can leave Jeremy with Blackbelt and the boys. I think he's taking them to the Boys and Girls Club that afternoon for leisure karate, so we can have Jeremy watch them, and perhaps Blackbelt can keep an eye on him."

"That's a deal," Valerie grinned.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Nightshade's apartment, she had spent the whole evening trying to call Mace. He'd hung up once while her dinner was cooking, and she'd kept getting his answering machine since. This seventh time was no different. She sounded increasingly frustrated as she said during the message, "Damn right I'll leave a message at the beep!" 

Then at the tone, "Mace! Mace, it's Nightshade! Listen, I know you're still at home, and you can't possibly be with that bitch, so will you please pick up and talk to me!"

Finally, Mace's image appeared on her phone screen. He looked reluctant to talk, and barked, "Dammit, Nightshade, whaddya want?"

"Mace!" she pleaded. "Mace, please! That isn't any way to talk to a woman you once fell in love with! The same woman whom you pledged your soul and life to. The same woman who gave up her former career only for you. All the community service I've been working for that time I was in jail for attempted robbery, that has been my _work_ since giving up crime!"

"With a few odd jobs on the side, no doubt," he said bluntly.

She was close to crying. "Mace, what's wrong with you? Why are you being so stubborn and hot-headed? Don't you care about us anymore? Just stop and think about what you're throwing away!"

"I'm throwin' away a fluke of a romance that I should've known was never meant to be! An' I'm ready to put a restrainin' order on ya if ya don't quit callin'! Maybe I should come over there. We need to talk, face to face! Maybe then, you'll get it." His image then disappeared.

Nightshade didn't bother to change clothes or do her makeup. She just sat on her sofa and told herself, "Mace is just submitting to some untrue rumors about you, woman. You've only gone back to the Big Boss over obligations to keep the ties strong… ooh, I should really go back one of these days and tell that asshole off!"

She was staring at the clock. With every second that passed, her nervousness increased. She thought of Valerie again. She refused to speak to herself about her. She went to her bedroom for the picture of Mace and Valerie on her dresser drawer. Her scared reaction to being photographed while he looked somewhat oblivious. Teresa Laird never told her much about this woman when she visited her apartment. Perhaps Mace could tell more about her. "Just what would a tough guy like Mace see in this overgrown little girl?" she wondered aloud.

She went to the kitchen for some water. By the time she drank her third glass, she heard her doorbell buzz. She went to the door and stared at it without looking through her peephole, thinking it was her expected guest. "Mace? Mace, is it you?"

He answered bluntly again. "It's me, Nightshade, open up."

She opened up and brought him inside, looking desperate. "Mace, I can't live like this anymore," she said. "I don't know what it is you're getting from the Empire City police force, but I can assure you it's all false."

"Really?" he wondered. "Then what were all those reports from my colleagues 'bout you several months ago, takin' guys out an' takin' their money. Not only didja hurt me, but do ya know what that's called!"

"Get real, Mace! I'm an ex-jewel thief, not an ex-prostitute. And I was certainly never an escort. I was only taking advice from my sister, Cathleen – try to date other men, she said. I told her how you were treating me like shit with your coldness and distance. And I made sure the Big Boss knew about this, too. He said that if I ever needed a friend – which I did – I could always come to him. I still don't know how all this started." Her tears began to show, falling alongside her cheek, but he didn't wipe them away. "And you know how I am with men paying for things. All the rich girls expect it from them. But there were some who wouldn't part with their cash for an expensive dinner, so I took matters into my own hands, and 'borrowed' their credit cards. Jesus, what is it with men and exaggerating the truth?"

"An' the string of jewel thefts that occurred those first two weeks in May!" Mace reminded her. He was telling her as this crime came back into his memory. "Bulletproof showed me videotape of a figure that looked very much like you in the darkness. Jumpin' through the beams so ya wouldn't get nailed, spray-paintin' the camera lenses, disablin' the rest of the security system." He grabbed her shoulders and glared into her eyes so deep, he thought he'd burn them. "Nightshade, when you asked me to marry ya at that outdoor restaurant, I told you only on the condition that you leave Big Boss an' go straight!"

"You showed me that tape while we were arguing that one time!" Nightshade cried. "That perp was wearing a ski mask that covered everything but the eyes. That could've been anyone! And I hadn't been going back to the Big Boss since we'd gotten engaged, at least not for criminal purposes. I'm telling you, some of the more job-obsessed members of C.O.P.S. are poisoning your mind with fabricated horse shit!"

She forced his hands off her shoulders and backed away. "Just because I'm still slender enough to fit into a catsuit, it doesn't mean that I'm still cat-burglaring. Maybe you'd come back to me if I gained ten pounds, would that be it?"

"Well, if you didn't do it for the Big Boss, you obviously did it to satisfy yer own greed," Mace accused. "Greed an' materialism, two things 'bout women that turn me off the most. I'm almost scared to have children with ya, Nightshade, I'm wonderin' how you'll bring 'em up. At least Valerie ain't like that."

"Valerie!" Nightshade repeated. "That name again! Listen, Mace, the woman is nothing but a cop-chasing slut, and you know it! You may not care to hear this, but I met her secretary in my quest to find out about her. If this love was as real as you two claim, she'd be focused only on you, not dating other members of your team! And I'm starting to hear rumors from people who know her, in various places where I shop, no less! They say she uses her son's mental problems as an excuse to let him act out! And _you_ believe in forceful physical discipline, don't you? _So what the fuck do you SEE in this woman!_"

"You have it all wrong, girlie-pie!" he blurted. "Jeremy's not as spoiled as people make him out to be! Rarely do I hear him ask for stuff 'cause he wants it. I'll bet he's hardly aware of what's around him in a store even. Yeah, he has outbursts, an' has trouble holdin' still at times, and he don't eat much, but that's the Shaken Baby Syndrome talkin'. An' even I can understand that. An' ya know how else I know Valerie doesn't spoil Jeremy? She herself don't like it when men spend so much money on her every date."

"Oh, bullshit!" Nightshade spat. "You just love her because she has blonder hair, bigger tits and longer legs than I do! And because she has a kid of her own that you just love to pieces, don't you?"

"I love Valerie because she's more down-to-earth an' self-disciplined than you are!" Mace bellowed clearly. "You know, my parents weren't very happy when I brought you home to meet them. They said I can do better than you, a former jewel thief, an' they're right!"

"That's not true!" she cried. "I won't believe that! Mace, think about it for a minute! If you introduced your parents to _Valerie_, they'd immediately disapprove once they see what a weak and lazy mother she is! Then when she's forced to choose someone else, you'll have no choice but to come back to me, and we can continue the romance we once had!" She threw herself to her knees, and clung to his calf, screaming in despair. "Mace, please! This is all that I want!"

"Forget it, Nightshade!" he ordered. "I don't want this romance anymore! Don't bother callin' me or comin' over to my place! Lose my number!" He freed his leg from her grasp and went to the door. "I should've known all along, that a romance between cop an' crook was never meant to be. I'm stayin' with Valerie fer as long as she still wants me. An' if she chooses one of my colleagues, I can easily find another single mother to love, an' be a father to her kids."

"Mace!" she called. "Mace, where are you going?"

"Back to C.O.P.S. headquarters," he answered. "Maybe I'll serve a voluntary shift. The way I see it now, maybe my duty time can be more enjoyable than my off-duty time. Goodbye forever!" Then he walked out, slamming the door behind him.

Nightshade just stood there staring at the door, feeling the emptiness and silence around her. She didn't even hear the phone ring. It took at least two hours for her to realize that he wasn't coming back. When she did, she went to her sofa, cried and beat her frustrations upon it for most of the night.

* * *

Valerie and Jeremy had lunch at the Raines house the next day. At twelve-thirty, they kissed their boys goodbye and left for their workplace. 

In the conference room, they met Mr. Lancer, Mr. Sussex and Dr. Taylor. Mr. Lancer was musing over a copy of Cindy's memo. Mr. Sussex directed them to two empty chairs next to the client. Across from them, they saw five empty chairs, for the instigators, Valerie knew. She and Cindy turned to client, interested that he'd show up.

"Hello, Dr. Taylor," Cindy said. "Quite fancy to see you at this meeting. Usually, clients don't usually show up at meetings to discipline staff."

"Cindy, remember what this meeting is about," Mr. Sussex reminded her. "Dr. Taylor said he was appalled by your memo, so after you all left, I invited him here to offer his opinions."

While waiting, Dr. Taylor talked to Valerie about Jeremy. "Who takes care of your son while you're here at work?"

"My sister, Karen, at current," she answered. "She's been a stay-at-home mom for some years now. When we first came to Empire City, the school year was almost over, and I hadn't registered him in a school yet. I also hadn't moved into a home of my own, so we lived with my other sister, Rhonda, and her family. But she and her husband both work, so I had to depend on my mother. Then almost a month later, we found a place and moved into Karen's neighborhood – at her insistence – so I've been leaving him with her all summer. Now with school in session, the bus drops him off at her place, and Karen looks after him until I come to pick him up." Dr. Taylor nodded, approving of this arrangement.

At around ten after one, they saw Donna, Linda, Michael, Kim and Joe come in, all looking unhappy. All five people on the opposite end of the table glared at them.

"You understand why you're here, don't you?" Mr. Sussex asked.

"We're aware this concerns the latest incident with Valerie, sir," Kim said. "But I must say that you're directing your discipline at the wrong people."

"Really?" Mr. Sussex asked. "Whom should Mr. Lancer and I be talking to, then?"

"You really need to talk to Valerie, and anyone else who is defending her," Linda answered, "including Cindy Raines over there, and Elise O'Malley. We all know what this meeting's about." She pointed at herself and her group. "See, the five of us are responsible, caring parents who would fight for our children's safety, instill respect into them, and guide them to adulthood so they become respectable members of society, all through strict discipline and rules, and setting up serious consequences for negative actions."

"And you're saying this isn't true of Valerie?" Mr. Lancer said.

"Exactly!" Linda said. "I know of no responsible parent who would use their child's mental condition – cerebral palsy, ADD, ADHD, autism, Down's Syndrome, bi-polar – to justify kind responses to bad behavior. Schoolteachers and authority figures would see all this as excuses."

"And this includes Shaken Baby Syndrome?" Mr. Lancer wondered.

"Absolutely."

"Any stranger on the street would look at the way Jeremy behaves," Kim added, "and wonder why mothers like Valerie just stand there and let it happen." She focused on Valerie. "Don't people stare at you, and mentally criticize you?"

"Kim, Linda, I just explain that he has lifetime effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome, and his behavior can't be helped," Valerie said. "It can't, especially when Jeremy starts screaming or babbling nonsensically in public – and he does do that sometimes. Of course, that's when people _don't_ start giving me unsolicited advice. If they do, I'll just scream at them that it's none of their damn business."

"Excuse me, Valerie," Joe interrupted, "but when you bring your child into a professional environment like this, and let him act out like he does, bouncing all over everything and constantly interrupting, then you make it our business. And that's when we _have_ to say something! And do something if you won't!"

"Need I remind you, Joe, that the purpose of the commercial was to help spread awareness about Shaken Baby Syndrome and its effects!" Cindy said. "It's not spreading awareness if you're yelling and spanking Jeremy for behavior you know is triggered by the syndrome. That's actually defeating the purpose!"

"We stand by our actions, doctor, and sirs," Kim said. "When we were at the studio, filming Valerie by herself as she was telling her tale of woe, Jeremy was constantly interrupting through bouncing all over the place, and screaming so loud, they could hear in the damn newsroom. He was also moving his head about, a constant distraction. On another take, when Joe instructed him to go Valerie, Jeremy's response was to let out an unexpected scream and hop all over the place like a rabbit. I thought he was going to fall over and hurt himself. He had to be disciplined somehow.

"I'm not going to get into my personal background here, but the military was a strong influence in my life, especially in the area of discipline. As a single parent, I knew I had to enforce this kind of lifestyle in order for my children to grow up properly. I give them rules and a strict routine that must be followed daily. My kids know not to give me any attitude, or else I will get in their faces to yell, and spank them if needs be. I have a twenty-four-year-old son who is now in college, and lives independently in another state. He boasts to his friends about what a tough broad I was, and he knows that if he disagrees with me about anything, I will get into his face. He respects me enough not to go beyond certain limits. My twenty-year-old son has manic depression and a problem with marijuana smoking. I've had no problems with him except for this. When he crossed the line for stealing, I had to call the police to put him in jail, though it broke my heart. He is now getting the help he needs. When my sons were sixteen and twelve, respectively, I spanked them with a belt for tickling their sister until she cried.

My Katrina – she's the one who said Valerie shouldn't have had her son – she's sixteen, and already a senior in high school. She's involved in the school's ROTC program and is doing exceptionally. As well, she's been taking college courses since her sophomore year. She also does volunteer work for different charities. She's able to manage her money–"

"We've heard enough, Kim!" Mr. Lancer interrupted. "Your children know right from wrong, so we can assume _you've _never shaken any of them. Congratulations! Obviously, you don't know what it's like to raise a SBS-ridden child." He looked at the rest of the group. "Have any of you or your spouses ever shaken your children even once?"

They all shook their heads, and Donna said, "We wouldn't dream of it. There have been times when we've all fantasized, but we know the difference between right and wrong. Some of us struggle to get that through to our kids day after day."

"Then you don't know what it's like to be me!" Valerie retorted. "I challenge you all to step into my shoes for a week, and take care of Jeremy. For God's sake, I have to pick out his clothes the night before, so I can help him get dressed in the morning. I guarantee that you'd all tone down your high-and-mighty discipline drives after that experience!"

"Why would I, Valerie?" Michael asked. "If I had Jeremy in my home, I would definitely treat him like I do my teenage girls – who, by the way, are little devils. In the first place, it wouldn't be fair to them if my wife and I treated him differently because of his disabilities. And to treat him like other children would show society that we weren't making excuses for any bad behavior. You know this as well as I do, Valerie! So yes, Jeremy _would_ be smacked around if he didn't do what he was told. He would be yelled at to sit still, stay quiet and behave like a proper young man. And he would get his ass beaten if he didn't bring home a good report card."

"You know what, Michael?" Cindy retorted. "The only difference between you and Valerie's ex-husband is you don't shake your children."

Dr. Taylor retrieved a sheet of paper, poised to read. "Let me remind you all again of the symptoms of Shaken Baby Syndrome survivors: partial or complete blindness, hearing loss, seizures, developmental delays, impaired intellect, speech or learning disabilities, memory or attention problems, paralysis which leave some in a coma, _severe mental retardation_! Severe mental retardation, ladies and gentlemen. You don't take a child of this condition, spank him or whip him with a belt, and then expect him to learn a lesson. It doesn't do anything to change a child's behavior; it only worsens it when he retaliates. I distinctly heard Ms. Boston's mother go over this in the interview with Whitney Morgan. As a medical professional, I couldn't have said it any better."

"Dr. Taylor, I must respectfully disagree with you," Donna interjected. "First of all, I think that's a ludicrous theory designed only to heat up the spanking debate. We as parents are frustrated enough with the anti-spanking laws on able-bodied children. For the so-called 'experts' to tell us not to spank disabled children like Jeremy, that just makes parenting even harder."

Mr. Sussex was getting angrier. "Are you questioning Dr. Taylor's authority, Donna?" he asked harshly. "Are you saying that he doesn't know his job?"

"Well, I don't think parents should submit to doctors who think this way," she said. "I agree that it's a tough decision to make, but that should be left up to the parents. And I definitely would spank Jeremy if he were my son." Kim, Michael, Joe and Linda all cheered and applauded.

Cindy and Mr. Lancer looked at Valerie. That cheering session just made her angrier. When it was quiet, she just said, "You people are really pissing me off today."

"I stand by what I said," Dr. Taylor replied. He looked at Kim and said, "Ms. Masterson, you said you had trouble looking for proper discipline techniques on Shaken Baby Syndrome Internet sites when researching, right? Well, the reason why they don't mention discipline is because a shaking survivor's brain does not respond well to forceful consequences. Their only response is to cry and scream, pound on something, and some even beat their heads on surfaces. They usually don't have the strength to hit or bite back. You can drag a misbehaving shaking survivor to his room, and he still won't quiet down. You can put him in a time-out corner, and he won't stay there for more than five seconds. In more severe cases like Jeremy, the brain is too damaged for him to even learn right from wrong."

"That is a crock!" Linda exclaimed. "All right, then what would you suggest for a child like Valerie's son? Because even kids like him need to be disciplined in some way!"

"I'm no psychologist," Dr. Taylor answered, "but any professional would suggest that you get down to the child's level, make sure you establish eye contact, and tell him rationally that what he did was wrong, and that he should not be doing it. Use 'big people' words that he will understand, depending on mentality level. I know this may seem like a joke to you all, but this technique works." He turned to Valerie. "Ms. Boston, does this work when Jeremy misbehaves?"

"Absolutely," Valerie replied. "But he doesn't misbehave too terribly much if ever. Usually, when he's told 'no junk food before dinner' or 'no TV today,' he won't put up a fuss. He'll just do something else, like read a book or, when he's at Karen's house, sit with her on the computer and help her pick out patterns for her decorating business. She says this helps him learn his colors. Or else they'll play computer games, or she'll take him on an outing."

"That's another thing," Dr. Taylor said. "You must keep a constant eye on survivor children when they're active. They're very prone to accidents. And keep them busy; because survivor children tend to act out more when they're bored. You may not want to spend twenty-four-seven with the child, but they require that kind of care. You must find a reliable caretaker if you desire some 'me time.'"

Donna was acting frustrated, so when it was her turn to speak, she said, "Getting back to behavior, I just want to say that this is another thing I don't like about Valerie." She glared directly at her. "Valerie, you claim that Jeremy is this perfect angel who doesn't put up a fuss when he hears 'no.' But that has to be the biggest lie and exaggeration I ever heard. It's obviously another way to justify your anti-spanking views. If he's as perfect as you say, then why was he acting up when we first met Dr. Taylor?"

"That was part of the syndrome, Donna!" Valerie retorted. "You must not have listened to Dr. Taylor that morning! Realistically, Jeremy is sweet and non-violent. He doesn't have any strength to fight back or talk back. When Tom was beating him over some stupid thing, he was too weak to hit or kick him. The only thing he'd do is cry and scream for help. I always had to step in to stop it. How dare you vilify my son like that!"

"Still, I'm constantly screaming at my kids about school and chores, and coming home on time," Donna complained. "Judging by the way Jeremy acted, and what I heard from Joe and Kim, he could make them look like goddamn saints!"

"And it doesn't help that you and Elise O'Malley are constantly defending those two," Joe added to Cindy. "I noticed that Teresa is starting to do the same, as well as the other non-parents in the company. I guarantee that if any one of them had children, they'd suddenly change their minds about Valerie, and start siding against you."

"Mr. Sussex and I never heard a word about Valerie's parenting from the childless among the staff," Mr. Lancer said.

"I only heard Teresa say nice things about Jeremy," Mr. Sussex said. "The day I had Michael, Joe and Donna in my office after the first incident, she praised Valerie because Jeremy was happy and well-adjusted."

Mr. Lancer addressed the group of instigators. "Okay, we've heard what Donna would change about Valerie's child-raising. What about the rest of you? I'm curious to hear your thoughts."

"I don't like that Valerie doesn't give Jeremy enough chores," Kim said. "How old is he now, Valerie?"

"He just turned eleven almost a month ago," Valerie said.

"Well, I find it distressing that at age eleven, he only empties the dryer and picks up from the floor – one at a time, I imagine," Kim replied. "Getting back to my kids, they've been doing laundry from the age of eight – wash, dry, fold, put away – Katrina included. She also puts out the trash every week for pickup, without being told. She likes to keep the house clean, and when she has friends over, she doesn't let them mess it up. But I tend to share the workload with her; some of our best talks have been while cooking, cleaning the kitchen or doing dishes. I refuse to believe that Jeremy can't even reach to open a washing machine, and that Valerie won't even let him vacuum or set the table. He can't possibly be that short and klutzy."

"Jeremy is only thirty inches tall, maybe thirty-three," Valerie said. "The standard washing machine is thirty-six inches at lid height, correct?" Both her bosses nodded. "Add the fact that he has short arms, and I can tell you he can't get the lid open. And don't get me started on the table-setting story. Let's just say it was a disaster that led to more physical abuse. And don't tell me that Tom was a responsible parent. He was the one that caused Jeremy to be screwed up in the first place. He never wanted a child from the get-go; I can guarantee he'd put your precious little girl through hell."

"Well, the least you can do is have him do the dishes. Get a stepping stool, install back and side guards so he won't fall over, and he'll be good to work."

Now Valerie was sarcastic. "Oh yeah, so he can drop dishes into the sink, and hit his head on the counter when he leans forward. Good idea!"

"All right, that's enough arguing," Mr. Lancer said, then turned to Cindy. "Cindy, if you were me, how would you solve this problem?"

"Fire that whole crew, especially Kim," Cindy replied. "I know that she has been a thorn in Valerie's backside ever since they first met. I understand that she's a hard-working, exceptional project manager, but she obviously relishes in her military background far too much. Maybe this will teach her that military procedures are _not_ parenting skills."

"I agree," Valerie said. "Mr. Sussex, it was especially a big mistake to put Donna, Michael and Joe on this assignment. I know this was to make them see how wrong they were for how they treated me before, but if Cindy hadn't been there, this would've turned into a déjà vu of Breath For Life. Her presence and influence kept me from losing it. As for Linda, I think she's becoming a bigger gossip than even Teresa. Just because she lives next door to one of the C.O.P.S I'm dating, it doesn't give her the right to make me miserable!" She glared harshly at Linda. "You had no right to spy on me and Barricade from your window that one time, and you had no right to barge in on us during one of our private moments! And I hate it when you or anyone else gives me unsolicited advice about my parenting!"

"Dammit, Valerie, this is for your own good!" Linda yelled. "Yes, this is unsolicited advice, but you definitely need it!" She turned to her bosses. "Sirs, I don't believe you should fire Valerie. She's obviously done some exceptional work, though I still think the Dempsey thing was a cop-out. But you need to have a private conversation with her. Tell her that a lot of parents here are concerned about the way she is with Jeremy, and there are steps she must take to change. I'm wondering how many clients will want to work with her once they find out the truth.

"Let's suppose that one of our client firms asked her to speak about parenting special needs children. If she said the same things she and Dr. Taylor said here today, that client just might take their business elsewhere unless you agreed to fire her or make her take parenting classes. Would you want to do business with someone who raises a spoiled child? Put her in the class for non-disabled children, so she can learn how to put Jeremy on their level."

"Then again, they could walk away educated and informed, and Valerie would get a thank-you letter for her efforts," Mr. Sussex said. "And even if we did make her take parenting classes, she'd have to take classes specifically designed for physically and mentally disabled children. They would tell her the exact same thing that Dr. Taylor told you."

"Still, it's like I told you before," Linda said. "I think Valerie would gain more respect among her co-workers here if she were stricter and harsher with Jeremy when he makes mistakes."

Mr. Lancer looked at the memo again and shook his head. "I'm very disappointed in this result, people," he said. "Kim, I knew your behavior toward Valerie was unacceptable, but I opted to keep you around because of your work ethic. In the two months you've been with us, you've had only one rejection, when your project team competed with Jack Golding's team over the best magazine ad for the Home Helper's new Multitask Machine, and they chose Jack's ad. We talked about employee treatment when you harassed Valerie in the ladies' room early in your time here, and you promised you'd stop. I see here that this has not happened."

Mr. Sussex glared at Donna, Michael and Joe. "As for you three," he said, "Valerie's right. This would've turned into the Breath For Life fiasco had it not been for Cindy. Maybe it would've been worse than that. That portion of the commercial shot at the studio would've never been completed, we'd have no commercial in time to present, and if you think I'm nasty now, let me say I would've been so pissed then! As you all may realize, we will have to start work on Halloween and Christmas ads pretty soon, and we'll need Valerie here for these projects. The last thing Lancer and I want is for her to have a breakdown. We don't want to have to send her and Jeremy away for rest and relaxation at this crucial time! That's exactly what will happen if this nonsense continues. So I'm going to crack down on this cruel treatment now!"

He slammed his hand on the table and pointed at the instigators. "You're fired! All five of you are fired! Take the rest of the day to clean out your desks, and strip your offices of all personal material."

Donna, Michael, Joe, Kim and Linda all got up and left without a word. They were too angry to speak to Valerie or Cindy. Everyone except Linda had no way to support their families now. And it was all Valerie's fault, though she didn't look regretful. "They all knew what was coming," she said, then sighed. "You know, maybe some of this was my fault, too. If only I hadn't told anyone about Jeremy's conditions–"

"No, you were right to tell us this when you did," Cindy assured her. "Stuff like mental disabilities are vital information to the public, so they can help promote tolerance and awareness. There are just some conservative people who are too short-sighted."

"Valerie, we can't afford to have you take a leave of absence now," Mr. Sussex added. "God, I wish Catherine were here. If it weren't for her illness…"

"And now, we have to look for all new employees," Mr. Lancer said. He shook Dr. Taylor's hand. "Thank you so much for coming, doctor. You've been quite helpful."

"My pleasure, sir," he replied.

The bosses had Valerie and Cindy leave the conference room with them. Mr. Lancer said, "Ladies, you'll come with me to my office now, and help write an ad looking for new employees. I want this copied and sent out to the newspapers by the end of today. I'll send a memo to Teresa about our employee list."

* * *

After lunch the next day, she called Sundown, Mace and Highway. Today, she'd tell off Big Boss at his headquarters. She wanted one of her men to look after Jeremy this time, and she was too scared to leave him with Barricade because of Linda. 

Sure enough, Mace was available when she called. "Sure, baby, I'll look after Jeremy for ya," he said. "An' as an added bonus, how 'bout I drive ya to Big Boss' buildin' an drop ya off?"

"Could you?" she requested. "It's very important that I take care of him and his crew. I want this harassment to stop as of today."

"Sure, I'm over there right now!"

Valerie went to the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror. She knew she looked too attractive for the Big Boss, yet she was wearing only skin makeup. Her hair shouldn't be full and bouncy like it usually was. She took the shower nozzle, turned on the hot water, ran it through her hair until it was straight and flat. She even hoped the hair would get split ends. When it was at the desired look, she went to change clothes. She wanted something not all that feminine and sexy, but not too blah either. She found a pair of old gray jeans with a hole in the knee, and a white sweatshirt with apricot-colored roses on it, large enough to fit over her chest. Too bad she hadn't thought of a breast reduction lately.

When she got to the front hall closet, she noticed Mace's car in her driveway. She turned and opened her closet for a pair of old sneakers. She found a blue pair that she last wore in the previous fall's breast cancer walk in Parrish. Just as she put hers and Jeremy's shoes on, and left the house, she saw Mace coming up her walkway.

He was horrified by her "make-under" look. "Sweet Jesus!" he screamed, and rushed to meet her. "Who the hell are ya, an' what have you done with Valerie!"

"I _am_ Valerie, you dolt," she giggled. "I just decided to tone down my hotness, that's all. This is chiefly for Big Boss and his gang. I want to see if this helps him get the hint. Oh, but he's going to shit himself when he sees me. If this works, maybe I'll write to those women's magazines with a new tip on letting a guy know you're not interested in him."

They never said much at first; she was mentally rehearsing what she was going to say to Big Boss. When they got downtown, Mace asked, "Nervous about the Big Boss?"

"About seeing him, no," she answered. "But I want to make sure I say all the right things."

"Yer a woman of speeches, Valerie," he assured her. "How d'ya get all those acceptances when ya market all yer advertisin' projects? You'll be okay."

"Thanks for the boost of confidence." She put down her sun-blocker and studied herself in the mirror. "So what do you planned for Jeremy while I'm with Big Boss?"

"Dunno," Mace replied. "Maybe take him back to my place, sit him down in my livin' room, an' have a man-to-man talk 'bout why you should pick me to marry ya someday. Explain the facts of life to him in a language he'll understand, since his damn father was too much of a little boy to do it himself." He stopped a red light and had Valerie face him. "Let me know that I intend to be a good husband to you, and wanna be a father to him, 'cuz you both deserve it richly."

"Mace, that's so sweet," Valerie replied, and kissed him once softly.

He saw the light was green, and continued driving. "And when yer through with Big Boss an' his crooks, I'll take you back to my place with us, an' cook us all a family dinner. I mean it, Valerie. I actually told off Nightshade two evenin's ago. Told her I was tired of her deceit, an' ordered her to lose my number."

"Speaking of told off," Valerie said, "I managed to get five of my co-workers fired from Lancer and Sussex yesterday afternoon. More bitching about my parenting in a latest project designed to, ironically, support Jeremy's cause. But our stories are too long. Let's save them for when we get to your apartment, shall we?"

"But of course." Soon, they arrived at Big Boss' headquarters, and Valerie gave Mace a quick kiss for good luck. When she stepped out, she said, "I've got my cell here. I'll call you to pick me up when I'm through." She walked furiously into the building.

When the elevator took her to the top floor, she was walking in big gliding steps, like she was a runway model. Her determination and confidence grew as she came closer to his office. There, she opened his door without knocking. She didn't care if Big Boss was sitting naked at his desk.

Sure enough, she'd interrupted a crime scheming meeting among the gang. They all looked shocked to see her.

"Valerie!" Big Boss cried. What the hell are ya doin' here? And what's wit that dowdy look. Yer a mess!"

"Glad you noticed," she replied. "Does this turn you off?"

"You know I like my dames beautiful," he said. "An' you usually are."

"Well, this shitty appearance is just for you and your followers," she told him. "Just as my beauty and sweetness attracted the C.O.P.S., it also attracted you guys by accident. Yes, I said, 'accident.' Maybe I looked too beautiful when I found out one of your cronies was taking my picture."

Buttons looked at her and said, "Baby, I was breathless by yer hair an' yer tits. Big Boss deserved to share the discovery wit me. _That's_ why I took yer picture."

"Figures _you'd _take interest in a woman because of the size of her rack," Valerie replied. "You'd probably have a threesome with a lioness and a tigress if they showed you any double-D breasts."

"An' I jus adored yer long, sexy legs," Buttons continued. "An' here you are, coverin' 'em up wit long pants. An' dear God, what's wit the sweater? That's such a high neckline fer ya, sweetheart. Ya don't look sexy, ya look like a dumpy housewife."

"Apparently, my looking sexy got me into this mess," Valerie retorted. "If I knew as a teenager that my beauty would be this cursed, I would've _begged_ my father to tell me how ugly I was!"

"Valerie, how dramatically you've changed," Big Boss said. "Yer ruder than you usually are when ya turn me down fer dates, see? An' I hate yer new look. Now I think you should go to my bathroom an' fix yerself up, see? I've got shampoo an' conditioner, hairspray, makeup, perfume, ev'rythin you'll need. An' I think Ms. Demeanor's got a few extra dresses an' shoes fer you to wear. I'll give ya an hour."

"No fucking way, Big Boss!" she spat. "Just tell me what I have to do to make you leave me alone. Begging didn't work, screaming didn't work, threatening to call Bulletproof and his team in didn't work, ignoring you sure as hell didn't work, and neither did rational talking. You remember all this, Big Boss? My last resort was to come here with an ugly appearance and an even uglier attitude."

"Valerie!" he cried. "Pookiekins, can't you see how much I love ya? How some of the crooks I have here love ya? This ain't jus about seein' how many times we'd bang ya 'til ya git tired. It's about showin' the world that a big, bad crime boss is capable of lovin' another human bein'."

"What shit! You criminals wouldn't know love and caring if they ripped your cocks and balls out!"

"Now that was just mean!" Dr. Badvibes protested. "I really think you should take that remark back."

"You want me to take back the truth?" Valerie asked.

Dr. Badvibes could soon guess the why of her nastiness. "It's those stupid C.O.P.S. lovers of yours. They have you so blind to the kind things we're capable of when we're not planning to capture Empire City. You shouldn't have spent so much time with them."

"I don't date the C.O.P.S. just for me and my son, you guys," Valerie insisted. "It's what society expects of me. I may not have my ex-husband to come and take Jeremy anymore, but I can certainly get into trouble if I'm caught dating any of _you_."

"What?" Rock Crusher asked. "Not even if we dressed all nice fer you, an' showed up a wonderful time in the city?"

"Come on!" she retorted. "If I used that line, they'd never believe me. I'd cause a city-wide scandal. Child Protective Services would take Jeremy from me, and put him in a foster home. And let's not forget what would happen at my work. I'm a successful businesswoman, for crissake. I've been here for nearly four months, and I'm trying to make it in this town. Climbing up the corporate ladder. You really want me to risk everything I've worked so hard for, just for one night of romance with you? You bad guys make us good girls look bad."

"Oh, Valerie," Dr. Badvibes said. He looked like he wanted to cry. "How can you be such a Juliet to the C.O.P.S., and then act like a Rosaline toward us?"

"I've always been a Rosaline to you people!" she snapped. "You just aren't getting it that's all! Besides, maybe it never occurred to you that the C.O.P.S. all love me, they want my hand in romance, and they want to be my son's father. Of course I'm Juliet to them; they're all Romeos to me."

"Valerie, listen to logic an' reason!" Big Boss begged. "Those C.O.P.S. jus want ya fer the sex. That's all it is wit police. Explain why the cop theme is so popular in the porn movie business."

"And what would you know about porn movies?" she asked. "Don't tell me you were operating a porn ring once. That's just fucking sick! I hope you went to jail for a good long time when they busted you!"

"Valerie, don't act like this!" Big Boss begged again.

"Why the hell not!" she spat. "It's pretty goddamn obvious that you're all bad news. You know you're bad news. I know you're bad news. Fuck, the whole fucking United States knows you're bad news! Your influences would kill not only my reputation, but everyone else's as well!"

"Not if we treat ya nice," Turbo said. "Which is what I'll do if you agree to go out with me tomorrow night. I promise I won't look below yer neck."

"Maybe if I wore this sweatshirt," she replied. "But who in his right mind would wear this on a date?" She also imagined a Monday night date with Turbo Tu-Tone. Trapped in a seedy bar with other drunk, rowdy men watching professional wrestling. She immediately shuddered. "No thank you, anyway."

"Valerie, I beg of you to reconsider," Big Boss begged once more. "How I am in my work don't reflect how I am in my personal life. I'll take you out to the best restaurants Empire City has to offer. I'll shower you in gold, diamonds an' pearls. I'll whisk around wit you to the Bahamas, London, Paris, Rome, an' wherever else yer heart wants to go."

"That's another thing," Valerie said. "Spending time with you just may turn me into a spoiled, materialistic brat. I don't like it when men spend so much money on me like that. I don't want the high society lifestyle in the crime business that you have. What do you think my parents would say to that?"

"At least I've done something wit my life, unlike some people I'm related to." He glared directly at Berserko.

"What?" Berserko asked. "I didn't do nothin', Unca Big Boss!"

"So have the men that I've chosen to love!" Valerie retorted. "And I'm going to make something clear to you!"

She addressed the whole room, heaving and huffing in frustration. "I'm going to make something clear to ALL of you! I don't love any of you, especially not you, Big Boss! I never have loved you, and I never will! Every last one of you disgusts me, and I'd sooner commit suicide than go to bed with any of you. Which is exactly what you wanted to do with me all along! Yeah, you don't love me, you love my body. This is exactly why you, Big Boss, had Nightshade kidnap me to bring here to your headquarters! Admit it, Big Boss! Well, I'll tell you right now, you're not going to see my body! And not only does my heart belong on the right side of the law, but I have a son to set a good example for, and I can't do that if I'm loving any of _you_! Big Boss, I want you and your cronies to stop coming over to my house, stop calling me at work, and when I get my number in the Empire City White Pages, don't bother looking me up! I will feel much better to have the bad guys out of my life!" She started walking to the door.

"Valerie!" Big Boss called. "Valerie, pookiekins, where are you going?"

"To my boyfriend's apartment!" she answered. "He has my son there, and I'm going to see him! And I'm not your pookiekins! I hate that name! I'll take 'baby,' 'sweetie,' 'honey,' 'sugar,' and other names like that, but not silly and childish shit like 'pookiekins!' So long for eternity, you boar's arse!" She rushed out and slammed the door.

When she got near the elevator, she heard another voice call her name. She turned to see Squeaky Kleen.

"Ms. Boston, would it be all right if I took you to wherever it is you want to go?" he asked.

Valerie stared at her purse, poised to retrieve her cell phone. "Well, I told Mace I'd call him when I was through," she said. "But he has my son at his place, and he's probably having 'the talk' with him right now." After a few moments, "All right, you can drive me. I don't want to bother him."

In the lobby, she went to a pay phone and tried to find Mace's address in the White Pages. She found his name and declared, "Ah, here we are. 2500 Campanella Street. Just drive me to the building; I can look for the apartment number on the intercom system." Squeaky nodded and led her out of the building to Big Boss's limousine.

* * *

The first thing Monday morning, at her workplace, she found some stapled sheets of paper tacked on her bulletin board. It was a memo from Mr. Sussex. It was dated the day of the firing meeting, directed to all staff. The subject line read _EMPLOYEE TREATMENT IN THE WORKPLACE_. She sat at her desk and read it over: 

_It is time for this advertising agency to resolve the problem of employee maltreatment._

_For the past several months, since our project manager Valerie Boston got settled in our headquarters, she has been a frequent target of malicious ridicule, gossip and criticism about either her parenting or her personal life. In recent weeks, however, staff members (specifically most parents) have been crueler to her about the former. Staff has been warned, individually and as a group, about criticizing the way Valerie raises her pre-teen son, Jeremy, who has severe mental problems. Young Jeremy Boston, with his Shaken Baby Syndrome, has serious learning difficulties and other dysfunctions resulting from a damaged brain, and as a result, displays very little self-control. I have interacted with Jeremy twice since Valerie began working, and he has displayed outlandish behavior that would get a normal child disciplined (e.g.: inability to sit still, interrupting with outbursts.) I believe her when she says these behaviors come naturally, and her refusal to use physical punishment or harsh words is reasonably sound._

_Related memorable incidents have shown this has not been accepted. As we all know, during the week of July 6, three workers, Donna Grayson, Joe DiTorino and Michael Hammer harassed Valerie about her child raising to the point where she nearly broke down on the job. Nearly a month later, on August 4, our newly hired project manager, Kim Masterson, was heard from the women's restroom screaming at her about the issue, and was even caught pinning her to the sinks. Our corporate attorney, Linda Fortense, has also given Valerie problems, by giving her unsolicited advice (i.e.: that she must spank Jeremy for bad behavior and spank often) and dismissing Jeremy's mental problems as an "excuse" to let him act out. However, during a recent assignment, a commercial to promote Shaken Baby Syndrome for Children's Hospital, all five employees displayed towering arrogance. During the production process on September 17, it was reported that:_

_Kim screamed at Jeremy to be quiet during filming of individual scenes with him and Valerie, and physically forced him to sit on the floor, then criticized Valerie for not disciplining him._

_Joe spanked Jeremy for creating a typical scene when he wouldn't follow his directions_

_Michael and Donna gave harsh comments defending these actions while shooting at Valerie's house, as did Linda the next morning, along with more unsolicited advice._

_At today's meeting, with our client from Children's Hospital, Dr. Neil Taylor, present, all five remorselessly defended their actions, even after Dr. Taylor presented the symptoms of Shaken Baby Syndrome, and advised why spanking and yelling does not work. (Brochures have been enclosed in some copies.) As a result, this entire group has been fired._

_As you all are aware, our busiest period of late October through mid-December is upon us, meaning we will again be seeing more Thanksgiving and Christmas-related projects from veteran and new clients. Because Valerie has had a reputable record, we will need her here for this crucial time. We cannot afford to give her paid vacation time to recover from a potential meltdown, which will happen if this harassment continues. Therefore, all parenting advice directed towards Valerie, as well as all gossip about her, must cease. This includes during coffee breaks and lunch times. Failure to comply will result in the offenders being released and replaced._

_Thank you for your time. I hope you will take this message, my concerns and Valerie's feelings into your consideration._

Valerie was satisfied at the memo, and put it in her briefcase. She went to Mr. Sussex's office for her next assignment. It would probably be helping him with hiring replacements, she guessed.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, I finally killed off the romance between Mace and Nightshade here. Though I haven't seen the Mace's Romance and Lawless Lady episodes of the show that bring this up, I read about this on Wikipedia, and still laughed it off as a fluke that was never meant to be to start with. To all who see this, I stand by this decision. 


	28. Business And Pleasure Come Together

Chapter 28

Monday night, Valerie had a dream. She dreamed she was on the beach in a blue evening gown, looking like a model on a romance novel cover. The sun had already set, yet the colors of the sky were not making her happy. She was alone, waiting for her love, believing he'd never arrive.

Suddenly, she heard a somewhat familiar voice calling her name. She looked in all directions, but noticed a shadowy figure in the far distance to her right. He wouldn't move, but kept calling her name over and over.

"Who are you?" she called. "Please come forth towards me!"

He did, and Valerie was surprised that it was Bowzer. He wasn't in his police uniform; instead, he was dressed in black silk pants, and a black shirt unbuttoned past his chest. She was smitten by how wonderful he looked.

"Bowzer!" she cried happily.

"Valerie," he said softly, then brought his hand out for her. "It has been too long."

She took his hand and stood up, placed her hands upon his shoulders. "Oh, Valerie," he said, "you don't know how long I've been waiting. Ever since they found me guilty of sexually assaulting you, and banished me here for my crime, all I ever dreamed about was you. I couldn't sleep any more than four hours a night, and could only eat as much as your son. I miss him, too."

She started to explain, but he wouldn't let her. "I don't want to hear that you've been too busy to see me, you and your work. If you and Jeremy could come live with me here, you wouldn't have to work. I could take care of you both. Oh, but it must be this way. All I have here are the sand, the surf, my little hut, my dog, and the memories of you and Jeremy and what could have been."

"Oh, but we can't live here," Valerie insisted. "It's beautiful, but also so isolated. I've left Jeremy in the city with my sister; I only came here to find you, bring you back. Oh, but they have to welcome you back to Empire City. I know you frightened me that night, but I understand that you had good intentions. They have to understand, too."

"Then you'll throw over the rest of the competition, and choose me as your husband," Bowzer said.

She became quiet, suddenly confused, and slowly turned away from him. "I don't know," she whispered.

"Valerie, you must!" he pleaded. "Oh, but all this fate could've been spared if only you'd decided on me weeks ago. I can't just stand idly by and watch you date around with the rest of them, while you only see me on this side. It makes me feel desperate. I want to feel loved."

He undid the rest of the buttons, and took his shirt off. "Let me help you decide." He placed her hands upon his chest, and she kept them there for a few moments. She began to run her fingertips through his chest hair, then over his nipples. She slid her hands off, then placed them on his shoulders, rubbing them as if she had pain cream in her hands. She felt all the way down his arms, only to feel how hairy the forearms were. She slid her hands off again, this time touching her throat. Up until now, she didn't realize how rugged he was, or did she? She knew Sundown was rugged and handsome, too, but also charming, romantic and pleasing. Could Bowzer at least try to be those things?

Valerie stepped closer to Bowzer and put her hands on his waist. "Oh, Bowzer," she said, "but when I touch you, I can't help but to think of Sundown and his charm, especially how he makes love when he's with me at night. Oh, but if you can match his technique…"

He put his finger upon her lips, making a soft shushing noise. "Give me just one try," he said. He wrapped himself around her, and brought her close to kiss her. For once, they felt more alone than they were; in their passion, there was nothing around them but the purity and beauty of heaven, and they could heard the soft melodies of angels they couldn't see.

Valerie's lips left his, and they were soon kissing his neck. She stopped kissing soon enough to look at his chest again, and run her fingers through the hair once more. She got onto her knees, up so she was at his chest level, and began to kiss all over it. It made Bowzer feel sexy and energized, so he got onto his knees, too. Their hands clasped to each other, their fingers entwined, they were kissing each other's lips again. He leaned forward and made her fall upon the sand. She put her hands on his arms again, and felt her way to his upper back. She kept herself wrapped around him, as his hands were only on the back of her neck. They rolled around like a two-person log into the tide, and stopped when his ears were in the water, his hair soaking. She stopped kissing to look at him, how wonderful he looked when he was all wet.

Bowzer gasped and said, "Valerie, I have to get up and out. My pants will be ruined."

"Oh, but what could water possibly do to silk?" she wondered. "They can't possibly be dry-clean only, can they? Oh, but I've never realized how gorgeous you look right now." She kissed his lips again.

Suddenly, a wave enveloped them, and both of them were soaked all over. Bowzer sat up and examined his lover. The bounce and fullness in her hair was gone, and her dress was sticking to her skin. It was arousing him, so he crawled towards her, pushed her down, and they continued to make love among the ocean waves.

Valerie was rolling around in her bed, humming in passion and delight, not saying anything. When she could feel her arms wrapped around her pillow, she awoke and sat up. It was so dark, she couldn't even see her night stand. She turned on her lamp and saw the time read 2:13 A.M.

"God, was I just dreaming about Bowzer?" she whispered to herself. She looked at the other side of her bed. Thank God there was no one sleeping with her.

She got out of bed and went to her master computer. She wanted to check her e-mail messages. She was thinking of Bowzer the whole time; did he send her anything?

Sure enough, there were four new messages, and when she clicked on her inbox, she saw Bowzer's real name in the _From_ Line. She clicked on that one, titled _My Apology_. It read:

_Valerie_, _I just want to let you know how regretful I feel for what I did to you several weeks ago. I should've found another way to ask for more time with you. Barricade and the others were letting me know this at the headquarters the other day, and I had to hear Sundown lecture me about how men took care of women back in Texas. (God, if he could leave his Texas roots behind!)_

_Anyway, again, I want you to know how sorry I am. But you understand I had the best of intentions, right? I really can't bear the thought of you choosing someone else besides me. I tried dating other women while we were apart, but I couldn't shake my deep thoughts of you. And while I'm back working, I'm really worried about the future – my future. I wonder about this investigation that Police Chief Irons is conducting on me. I'm scared, Valerie. These rape charges over my head could cost me my badge, my gun, even Blitz. I know I can't stop it; could there possibly be a way for you to stop it? Only your sweet, persuasive manner can save me in this. I want to depend on you now._

_Last, and most importantly, I want to say I'm sorry for upsetting your mother and sisters. I'll ask Bulletproof if I can have next Friday off. I want to invite you all to my house for dinner, to mend my rift with your family. Please show this to them; I need their acceptance. Please call me later, and I will give details. Love, Bowzer._

Valerie didn't feel like forwarding the message to Rhonda or Karen now. "It's too late at night for this," she muttered. She printed it out, anyway, and read over that part about the investigations. Perhaps she'll call Bulletproof in the morning and ask him about it. They could persuade Chief Irons to call off the investigation, if Bulletproof could believe Bowzer's sincerity. She took it to her room. She'll file it away in her briefcase the next morning, and also show this to Karen when she came home from work.

* * *

After she dropped Jeremy off at school, Valerie said aloud, "All right, Valerie, you are going to work today. You will not think of last night's dream, and you will not share that e-mail with anyone. Remember that centerfold ad you have for Hidieku Car Company, and that accompanying commercial. You will focus your energies on your work."

When she came in, Mr. Lancer immediately greeted her with good news. "We got an e-mail from Jim Kirkland late last night," he said. "The head staff members at Texas Pride have decided to keep the ad you put up as is. They say you can keep it up until the end of the year, at least."

"That's wonderful!" she replied.

"He further suggested that each of the front and rear modeling pictures can be used in a series of magazine ads," he said. "I'll send memos to Stephen Flett and Gerinna Donalds. That can be your next assignment when you're finished the Hidieku project."

"I accept," Valerie said. "Thank you, sir."

She went into Scott Onions' office, where he and Josh Slann were ready to show her the photography layout. "We worked on it all last night," Josh said.

She examined it over herself. The car was an attractive shade of light blue, like the color of the ocean in the summer, with a standard roof, which took up four-fifths of the layout. The last fifth was interior pictures shown vertically, with four-inch deep bucket seats of black leather, a panther black dashboard with a stereo that said _Rock_ in the picture, the picture of the back showing a screen for a built-in DVD player, and two-shoulder seatbelts in the back. "I still don't know about this 'satellite stereo' thing," she said. "Do you think this will grab enough interest?"

"Why not?" Scott asked. "It's commercial free continuous music and news twenty-four hours a day. Just like MaxTrax on television, this new brand of stereo represents hassle-free radio of the future."

"Look, the one thing I don't like to put up with when listening to the radio," Josh added, "is waiting through five minutes of commercials for my favorite songs. Not that we've put out any bad radio ads, but what if I'm driving a short distance, the DJ announces my favorite song coming up, and I have to sit through mostly commercials the whole ride? People think it's a real drag if your favorite song starts to play just as you arrive at your destination."

Valerie began to laugh boisterously. "Which could still be a problem with this new stereo," she pointed out.

"That's why our client mentioned the voice-activated 'smart-com' for requests," Scott said. "They'll instantly play your favorite song right after the current one. Of course, a vast knowledge of music is helpful; your song won't play if you're on the wrong station. And speaking of mentioning…"

"I have the text all ready, but I want you to proof-read the pitch."

She activated her laptop, clicked onto the word processor and selected _Hidieku Car Project_. The first page consisted of a headline on a metallic blue background. The headline was, _Now introducing a car that will reshape the future of vehicles._

"I like the metallic blue," Josh cooed. "Matches the one that was shown to us."

"That, of course, is for the front," Valerie said, "before you open up to see the car photo." She scrolled down to the second page. "And here's what I want you boys to look over."

Scott and Josh read over the few double-spaced justified lines, and were impressed. _With the technologies of vehicles past, _they read, _Hidieku is pleased to present a car destined to change the future of convenience. _After the brief, important bit about speed, horsepower, headlight power, and tire description, _Also, we introduce bucket seats and back seats made from all-leather to comfort and relax both driver and passengers, and a stereo playing your choice of continuous music via satellite, with an accompanying intercom designed to take instant musical requests of favorite tracks. Backseat passengers can also be entertained with a built-in DVD player. Further noted are two-shoulder seatbelts in the rear, expressively designed for children's safety, as well as standard dual-stage airbags and front seat mounted side airbags._ She even included the company name and slogan.

"Excellent," Josh said when he finished reading the whole thing. "Nice that you covered all the automotive basics first, but then you really took care of what our client will be looking for in the interior. Let me see your notebook, I'll bet you took down a lot."

"Very funny," Valerie said. "Now, should I try to fit this all into one column? How much centerfold space did you take up with the pictures?"

"Actually, there should be more than enough room on the 'magazine page' part," Scott noted. "And if we make enough room, we should be able to move two of those interiors pictures on there just above the text in editing. And I may have saved the Hidieku logo in my graphics folder on my computer. We'll take care of that."

"Then I suggest we get busy," Valerie said. "Lancer wants the ad by noon, so we can get started on the commercial after lunch. Maybe even before that if we finish quickly."

* * *

At lunch, Valerie, Scott and Josh were already discussing what to do with the commercial. 

"I really think we should film on the highway outside the city limits," Josh suggested. "The fall colors should be at their most beautiful by now."

"That won't be until next week, at the earliest," Valerie objected. "Maybe even early October. We can't wait that long to film; this has to be ready by Friday morning." She bit into a turkey submarine sandwich and swallowed. "Besides, we have to use that same blue car in the commercial. It wouldn't look good with the red, yellow, orange and brown leaves. I like Scott's idea to film in the city, and close off several streets and intersections. But we need a city permit."

"I'll take care of that," Scott volunteered.

"And who should we hire as the stunt driver?" Josh wondered. "Because I was thinking about maybe one of your friends from that C.O.P.S. group."

She gave him an unnerved look. "Don't tell me you've based that decision on all the gossip you've heard!"

"No, it's just that given the talents of some of them, they'd be perfect," Josh said.

Scott rolled his eyes and said, "Right, and why don't we just install a computer, CB radio, siren and police lights, paint the word 'POLICE' on both sides of the car, and donate it to them afterwards?"

"Actually, now that you mention it, Josh, that does sound like a good idea," Valerie said.

"All right, and does that group have a vehicle expert?" Josh asked. "We would need someone with an expertise in cars to make the product more interesting."

"What, Hardtop?" Valerie replied. Right away, her only date with him, her disastrous dinner, started coming back to her. She was feeling humiliated again, thinking about Whitney Morgan showing up, Hardtop's crush object. "No, screw that, Josh. After what went on with us that one crucial time, working with him is the very last thing I want to do. Besides, he'll just bore the consumer, the viewer, by just talking about the interior. We need someone who'll take the car for a spin, show us how fast it'll go, all the while working with the interiors – including that all-important stereo. I'm thinking maybe Highway – he'll definitely take the car to top speed, or even Mace."

"You're just saying that because they're your crush objects," Josh teased. "Admit it, Valerie."

Valerie glared at him. "Josh, what did I say about basing these decisions on the office gossip?"

"It's more than just the gossip, Josh," Scott said. "Valerie's right. Putting someone who'll actually drive the car in the commercial will snag the consumer's interest. It always does, because they want to see how fast and how far it will go. I'm sorry for my sarcasm earlier." He took out his cell phone. "I'm calling C.O.P.S. headquarters right now. Do you know the number, Valerie?"

"Not here, not now!" she hissed. "Don't you know it's bad manners to carry on a cell phone conversation in a restaurant? Wait until we're back at the office to do that! Besides, it's more important that you call City hall for that permit. Unless they insist we film in the countryside, there'll be no commercial without it."

Scott stopped, stared dumbfounded at his phone, put it away. "Right, you're right, Valerie. But I'll still need the number for C.O.P.S. headquarters later."

* * *

On her way home from work, Valerie decided to stop by the headquarters. Not only did she want to ask about the commercial, she also wanted to show Bulletproof that e-mail Bowzer sent her. 

She'd been thinking about Bowzer the whole way there, and decided to ask about him first. She'd made small talk with Barricade and Highway on the way to Bulletproof's office, promising to call them both. She knocked on Bulletproof's door and entered.

"Ah, Valerie," he said. "I received a call this afternoon from a Scott Onions. I hear you're working on a car commercial."

"Well, yes, but I –" she began.

"And Mr. Onions told me he wants to put someone from my team in your project to endorse it," Bulletproof said. "When I called Commissioner Highwater about it, she became pretty excited. As you know, Valerie, one of the things police departments pride on in their precincts is the handiness of marked vehicles. Highwater believes that an officer endorsing a car would make great publicity."

"That's wonderful," Valerie said, "but I wanted to –"

"And after a thorough discussion, I've decided that I'm going to release one of my people for this project."

Immediately, Valerie started to forget about the memo for just a few moments. "Really?" she asked. "That's great to hear. Thank you so much." She leafed through her briefcase. "I assure you, we'll pay you a handsome price in our budget for this, just name it." Then she found her memo and retrieved it. "Oh, and before I leave, I want to show you this e-mail I got from Bowzer last night."

As Bulletproof was reading, Valerie continued speaking. "I know I wouldn't normally reveal intimate stuff like this to a man, but I think maybe this would also help with your decision. Last night, I dreamed that I found Bowzer all alone on a deserted island. He'd been banished there after he was found guilty of raping me. He said he thought and dreamed of me the whole time. And he misses Jeremy, too. Then we–"

"Valerie," Bulletproof interrupted. "You'll have to take this to Chief Irons. I'm not the one in charge of investigating."

"Right," she said. "But the dream actually showed me that I still have feelings for Bowzer. You know that, right?"

"I believe you, Valerie," Bulletproof said. "I suppose I can fax this to the head department. Maybe I'll inform Irons that you still have some feelings toward Bowzer. That could help. Maybe if I can persuade him to let Bowzer apologize in a press conference, I can get the investigation stopped."

"I saw nothing but remorse and concern," Valerie said. "That is a first step. Maybe a public apology will be necessary."

As she got up, Bulletproof offered, "Do you want to make a copy of this for you? You should show this to Karen when you go to her house?"

"No, that's all right," she said. "I still have it in my e-mail. I'll forward it to her, Rhonda and Mom later tonight. And good luck with Chief Irons."

On her way out, she made eye contact with Highway again. She didn't try to look flirtatious; she wanted to ask a business question. But just as she opened her mouth, she heard a gruff voice yelling, calling someone a "punk." She turned to see Mace and Longarm escorting a teenage boy in handcuffs, around sixteen, long combover hair dyed black, rock n' roll T-shirt and bone trousers. Someone who didn't look familiar to Valerie.

"Uh, Longarm," she said, "why don't you deal with that boy yourself? I need to have an important word with Mace and Highway. It's about business."

"Sure thing," Longarm replied, and took the suspect to his desk.

Mace stood beside Highway, and Valerie began explaining the Hidieku magazine advertisement, giving every detail about the car, showing their interest. "Now we've just started work on the TV commercial to go with it," she said, "and we'll need the best driving expert to work the car, so we can promote it properly. And before anyone could think of hiring a stunt driver, Josh Slann quickly suggested hiring one of you guys. I just spoke with Bulletproof, and he's given permission for us to do so."

"An' yer assumin' one of us knows the road well enough to pull it off?" Mace guessed.

"Look, I know car commercials aren't exactly in a police officer's job description," Valerie replied, "but given their reputations as smooth, conscientious drivers, you have to admit it is a nice idea."

Highway cleared his throat, trying to remain humble. "Valerie, I spent years on the California Highway Patrol," he told her. "I might just be a motorbike and scooter expert, but I know a thing or two about driving. I should know, I spent the first few years just driving one of those patrol cars. I'd be happy to do it."

She kissed his mouth and smiled at him. "I knew you'd be the man for the job," she said. "Thank you so much for volunteering yourself. I'll call Scott and Josh, and tell them what's happening."

"Maybe when I'm off shift, I'll come straight over to your house," he offered. "You can give me details about where you're shooting this, and what time to show up."

"I'd love that," she said. "See you tonight."

Outside the headquarters, she ran into Bowzer and Blitz. She immediately wrapped herself around Bowzer and kissed him. When they let go, she said, "I dreamt about you last night. And right when I woke up, I went to check my e-mail to see if you wrote me. I kept it with me all day and just gave it to Bulletproof. We'll see if it can get you off."

He took her hand and said softly, "My darling, this police work is all I've ever dreamt about when I was growing up. Just as you were all I dreamt about when I first saw you. I'm sorry for not going up with Mace, Sundown and Barricade at that picnic to get your number. Now, everything I've ever achieved and hoped is in jeopardy because of my foolish desperation."

"Don't worry, Bowzer," she replied. "I would like to try again with you, provided that my mother and sisters approve. But if I can't, I'll at least feel good knowing that I saved your career. That should be more important to you."

"Valerie, I put my career on the same level of importance as you. Everyone else seems to, so should I."

She kissed him again. "I'll see what I can do. I promise." Then she checked her watch. Twenty minutes after five. "Listen, I have to go. Jeremy is waiting for me. I'll talk to you later." She kissed him one last time and left for her car.

Before she got in, however, she decided to call Josh. When she heard him answer, she said, "Josh, it's Valerie. Listen, I'm just leaving C.O.P.S. headquarters, and mission accomplished. Bulletproof said yes."

* * *

Highway came over to Valerie's house that evening, as he said he would. He was still in his police uniform. She only took his hand; she didn't bother to kiss him because she wanted to discus the commercial first. But he didn't take it too lightly. 

"Hey, what's with this lack of affection?" he asked. "It's not like we're in a corporate boardroom. I thought the details would only take a few minutes."

"I know," she said, "but I want to get it out of the way first, then we can share some quiet, romantic time, okay?" She hesitated for a few moments, but gave him a quick smooch on his cheek.

They sat on the living room sofa, and she explained, "Now, we weren't able to get a permit to close off a path downtown for you to drive. No thanks to that damn Mayor Davis; I can't believe he just told his secretary to take City Hall off our vendor list."

"Let me guess, he was tired of spending money on advertising permits," Highway guessed.

"I couldn't believe it when Mr. Lancer called a meeting to tell us this, and the e-mails he got from our competition agencies," she griped. "He'd severed ties with every advertising agency in the city." Highway held her close, and she began to feel better. "Anyway, then we got a hold of the State Highway Authority, and they agreed to close off a section. One hundred miles of the highway located west of the city; they said a scenic view would be important."

"That's wonderful," Highway said. "It'd certainly be better idea than filming in the city."

"Now, unfortunately, Mr. Lancer has the final version of our magazine ad, so I can't show it to you," Valerie said. "But we'll be using the same model of car in the commercial as we used in the print ad version. Scott asked the video crew to install mini-cameras in the front to show you driving, and one in between the seats to show the satellite stereo. They'll especially be looking for that. Meantime, you'll be wearing an invisible earpiece, and I'll be giving out instructions as you drive."

"That'll be great. I'm already pumped."

Suddenly, Jeremy came from upstairs with his homework assignment, stapled sheets. He had a map of the United States, with all the states numbered, and the next page was a worksheet of state capitals and largest cities. "Are you all done?" Valerie asked.

Jeremy gave the homework to his mother to check. Valerie was impressed by the map. "Very good, Jeremy, you got all the states correct." She checked the worksheet next, and noticed all the states capitals were correct, but noticed some errors on the largest cities.

"Eugene is not Oregon's largest city, Portland is," she pointed out. "And Maine's largest city is also called Portland, not the capital, Augusta. Raleigh is not North Carolina's largest city; I think that would be Charlotte. New Jersey, now that's tough, I don't know about this one. It's so densely populated. Are you sure it's Patterson?"

"Auntie… Karen… said… it was… either… Patterson… or… Elizabeth," Jeremy said. "She… claims… those… have more… people… than… Trenton. Drew… tried… to tell me… it was… Atlantic… City…, but… Auntie… Karen… said it… had a… population… of… eighty… thousand."

"Better check it with the teacher," Valerie advised. She took his pencil and erased the other errors. "Now, you can go to the table and put in the right answers, okay? Remember, Portland in both Maine and Oregon, Charlotte in North Carolina." Jeremy nodded and went to the dining room.

Highway looked at her again. "Is there anything else you want to tell me about the commercial?" he asked.

"No, I think we've covered everything that you need to know now," she answered. "Just that I plan to be up at seven tomorrow morning, so we can start filming at nine." She checked the time. Quarter after eight. "So, what do you want to do now?"

Highway looked at Jeremy, correcting his homework. After a few moments, he asked, "Jeremy, how much do you have left to do?"

"Give me… a minute," he called. "I got… both… Portland's…, now… I have… Charlotte… left."

Highway smiled, then turned back to Valerie. "I was thinking maybe playing a game of Pictionary or something. Something that will be easy with Jeremy, yet more enjoyable for the two of us."

"Good idea," she said. "I'll get a big pad of paper, and a marking pen. It'll help Jeremy identify the pictures."

By the time Jeremy was finished his worksheet, Valerie had already started to set the game up. Valerie and Highway were both drawing pictures really big, taking up half a page almost. They were still satisfied that it was helping Jeremy with guessing, though he was slow and loud with it. And when it was Jeremy's turn to draw, it looked like a bunch of messy doodling. They could only tell what it was some of the time. They'd finished just in time for Jeremy to go to bed, and Valerie won.

As she was tucking him in, she said, "Now I have to get up early to shoot a commercial tomorrow, so I'm going to have Auntie Karen or Cousin Sheldon take you to school." She kissed him good night, went to check her alarm clock, setting it for 7:00 A.M. She went to the living room.

Highway stood up, looking like he was ready to go home. "I know how early you have to be up tomorrow," he said, "so not to be rude, but perhaps I should stay only another hour."

"Nonsense," Valerie replied. "Whenever I have a boyfriend over and we're up too late, or I have to get up early, I ask him to stay the night. You know that." She kissed him rather erotically, and it immediately convinced him.

"Well, since you put it that way…" When his voice trailed, he found himself kissing back. He was rougher than she was, so fast and hard, their heads were moving about. Valerie quickly stopped him, and he looked confused.

"Was I, um, coming on too strong?" he asked. "I can slow down if you want me to."

"No, it's just that it's a little too quiet," she said. "It looks a little boring. Here, I'll put on some appropriate make-out music."

She took out the same soul groove CD that Barricade played for her when they made out on her loveseat. But she sat Highway on the sofa this time, making out as she took his clothes off to the music.

"Oh, Valerie," he breathed, "now this is what I call affection."

"Oh, Highway," she said in a slight moan. She was about to take his T-shirt off when he stopped her, then he pulled it off over his head. She was mostly caressing his shoulders and chest as they continued in their passion. Moments later, they stopped, and he stared at her clothes. Despite this heated, beautiful moment, he decided not to take them off.

"Nah," he said. "I think maybe you need me to be a gentleman tonight." He brought her close once more, and continued their love, running his fingers through her hair, all the way up and down her back.

"Highway," Valerie said, "I think I should tell you this is more than the affection you wanted." _But then again, who cares?_ she thought.

* * *

"Wow, this has to be the most beautiful car I've ever seen!" Highway complimented at the commercial filming location the next morning. 

Valerie took the causally-dressed officer to the makeup and hair trailer. "Tell you what," she said, "I'll ask the Hidieku company how much this costs, make a bargain, then send three to C.O.P.S. headquarters."

When Highway stepped out, Valerie escorted him to the car. He immediately noticed the cameras, one located in between the front seats, for the stereo; one attached the windshield on the driver's side; and one in the middle of the ceiling facing the back seat. She noticed the two-shoulder seatbelts in the back, the buckles welded to the floor, and said, "Shit! I forgot about these last night! Damn, now how are we going to show these seatbelts?" She glowered at Highway a bit. "Dammit, Highway, of all the times for you not to be a parent! You don't have any nieces or nephews who live around here, do you?"

He shook his head. "My whole family lives in parts of California, Oregon and Nevada."

"FUCK!" she screamed aloud. "Now who the hell are we going to put in the back to show the two-shoulder seatbelts? God, I didn't anticipate this, I thought we would mention that in the voice-over!"

"I told Scott that we shouldn't put in a camera to show off the seatbelts," Josh said, then glared at his co-worker. "I told you we wouldn't have enough time to audition anyone to be placed in the back. But, no, we just _had_ to show off all the features!"

"It's important that we do," Scott replied. "Besides, I wanted to put my six-year-old son in this thing. I got him all excited about it, but my wife said no, she doesn't want him to become some child actor, and she wants him to go to school. We had a huge fight about it last night, and you should've seen how quickly I left the house this morning."

"Whatever!" Valerie griped. She took out her cell phone and dialed the agency. "Looks like I may have to incorporate my family again. The bosses are going to think I have some sort of fetish."

When she heard Mr. Lancer's voice, "Mr. Lancer, it's Valerie. Listen, I've just learned that Scott installed cameras into the back part of the car for the commercial, so the two-shoulder seatbelts can be shown off. Will this be a necessity?"

"Well," Mr. Lancer replied, "I wanted to show off the driving and speed ability, and the stereo most of all, but now that you mention it…"

"Oh, that's just terrific!" Valerie griped. "Because we have no one to put in the back! I already have someone from C.O.P.S. headquarters driving this thing, and if we put Scott and Josh in there with him, I'm not sure what the clients will think."

Highway, Scott and Josh all looked at each other strangely.

"Look, if it's not too much trouble, I'd like to put Jeremy in this thing as well," Valerie continued. "I think it'd be a better idea if we had a child in there to promote the child safety of the seatbelts to begin with."

"If you think that's a good idea, I suppose we can do it," Mr. Lancer said.

"Great, I'll see if he's still at my sister's. Talk to you soon, boss." She hung up and called Karen's house next.

"Come on, Valerie!" Josh protested. "Three adult men in the car together don't automatically mean homosexual relations arising. Putting your kid in at the last minute! I'll bet he has school to go to!"

But she immediately shushed him once she heard her sister answer. Valerie explained the situation to her and asked, "You're not ready to take him to school just yet, are you? I'm filming on Highway 45, just west of Empire City."

"It's quarter to nine, I'm just about ready to take him to school," Karen said. "Will this take long?"

"I just need him for a couple of hours," Valerie answered.

"Fine," Karen said reluctantly. "Shall I look for a filming crew?"

Then Highway whispered something into her ear, and Valerie said, "No, Highway and I will flag you guys down. You just hand him over to me, and we'll do the rest. See you." She hung up, then phoned Jeremy's school and relayed the same information.

She heard Ms. Lancaster sigh over truancy, but Valerie begged, "Look, I know this is trivial, but I just found this out when I arrived here, and it's much too late to find a kid suitable enough to ride with Highway. Please, it'll only be a couple of hours."

"All right, but I hope you won't make a habit of this, Ms. Boston," Ms. Lancaster said. "This really could hinder on Jeremy's education."

"I'll admit him to the school myself when we're done," Valerie promised. "Thank you."

She gave a relieving sigh as she hung up. She turned to Scott and Josh. "You should consider yourselves lucky that filming is being delayed only an hour. We wouldn't have been in this mess to begin with if it weren't for that extra camera." She and Highway left the set to look out for Karen and Jeremy.

"Which car is Karen driving, do you know?" Highway asked.

"A silver Sedan, extra shiny," Valerie replied. "Bart likes them that way, says it makes cars look sexier."

They spent the next forty-five minutes looking out for silver cars, but the closer they got was light grey. Then, Valerie saw the silver car and her sister's hand sticking out of her open window, waving. She watched as Karen pulled over near them and got out, then went to her and said, "No need, sis. I can get Jeremy myself." She waved at Jeremy, then opened the door and unbuckled the safety belt, took his hand as she escorted him from the car.

Karen bent down to her nephew. "Now, listen," she instructed, "I want you to listen to your mother and do exactly–"

Valerie was laughing, and she interrupted, "He knows how to behave in a commercial, Karen. I think this will be his third one."

As she and Highway brought the boy to the set, Valerie only gave two instructions. "Now, I know this isn't your nature, Jeremy, but do you think you can sit still for about twenty minutes in the car? Try not to move your head so much. And do you think you can stay quiet during that time, too?"

"I… behaved… myself… like that… when… Bowzer… took me to… the… movies… that… one… time," Jeremy said. "I think… I can… stay… still… during… a… car ride."

"Great," she said. She introduced her son to Scott and Josh, then sent both Jeremy and Highway back to the makeup and hair trailer. "Jeremy needs a natural look, and can you see if Highway needs to be re-done?" As she waited, she called to Scott and Josh, "I'm going to put Jeremy in the passenger's side. Can you adjust the camera so it faces that way?" They nodded, and she went back to the trailer. A few minutes later, Highway and Jeremy came out.

Highway pointed to the blue Hidieku. "See that car?" he asked Jeremy. "That's the one you're going to be riding in."

"Cool!" Jeremy declared.

Valerie put Jeremy in the back and buckled him up. She was impressed at how tightly the seatbelt restricted him; Jeremy could barely move his body around because it felt so tight at the shoulders. All he could do was move his head and arms around, and kick his legs. _Wow,_ she thought. _It's better than those babyish booster seats_. She waited a few minutes as he stopped, then gave him another instruction: "Now it's time to sit still, sweetie. Look at the camera; it's going to be filming you at all times, so don't move around so much or talk. I don't know about Highway, but you don't have any speaking parts."

"Okay, Mom," Jeremy said, then Valerie shut the door.

She joined Scott and Josh at the screens, where they saw Highway, Jeremy and the satellite radio. Josh gave her a walkie-talkie and said, "Designed to work with the earpiece we put into Highway."

"Thanks," she replied, and found the talk button. "Highway! Highway, it's Valerie. Can you hear me okay? How's the earpiece working?"

They saw Highway looking into his camera on the windshield. "Valerie!" he called. "I can hear you just fine through this thing. I'm ready to go now. Will I be driving as you start filming?"

"That's the way car commercials usually start," she laughed. "Rev it up; the keys are in the ignition." Highway did as he was instructed.

"And take off!" she called.

Scott took the walkie-talkie from her. "Mr. Lancer assigned me to direct, thank you." He looked up at a sphere-shaped flying camera located at a far distance. "Cue the camera-bot!" A fourth screen turned on to see the car going down the highway, moving along with the vehicle.

"I'll ask about Highway's speed," Scott suggested after watching a few moments, "then we can edit out his voice." He spoke into the walkie-talkie. "Highway, how fast are you going?"

"Sixty," Highway replied.

"Go around ninety." The flying camera soon saw the car speeding up.

Scott waited thirty more seconds before instructing Highway again. "Now, do you see the new stereo on the dashboard? There's an on-and-off switch below the two knobs. Flip it on." Highway did so, and they were hearing an old country song, something from the 1970's playing, as the stereo system camera showed the words _Classic Country_ in glowing digital text.

"God, that's fricking awful!" Scott winced. He spoke into the walkie-talkie again. "Uh, Highway, see if you can find some good rock music playing. The tuning knob is just one above the switch." The team watched as Highway switched stations, and when they saw _Rock_ displayed, Scott said, "Hold it right there!"

That station was currently playing a song by Satellite Jones; Highway could identify it easily. He was getting into the sound. "Ah, good music!" he declared.

Valerie smiled and said, "We're keeping that line in there."

"I concur," Scott replied, then instructed Highway again. "Now, do you see that little box on the dash next to the wheel? Right where the stereo and ashtray are. Think of your favorite rock song, title and artist, and say it into the box."

They saw Highway smiling, and he requested, "_Fastlane Lover_, by Mark Lansing."

"Cool song!" Scott grinned to his team. Moments later, the Satellite Jones track ended, then a computerized voice announced Highway's request as the next song. At the opening beat, the satellite stereo camera caught Highway's fingers on the top knob, turning the volume up. They heard him call, "Yeah, baby!"

Meanwhile, Valerie was looking at the backseat camera screen. Jeremy was sitting quietly, his head tilted so he could try looking out the window. But with Highway's song playing, he started bopping his head left and right to the music. She turned the knob associated with that screen, so the camera would tilt down to his eye level, and focus in on the seatbelt.

She pointed at Jeremy and said, "Oh, look how cute! The Hidieku clients will be so impressed that even a child likes the new stereo system."

"Does he even know about the song that's playing?" Scott wondered.

Valerie elbowed him in the ribs. "He's totally deaf in one ear! I'm just glad he's able to hear it!"

They watched the camerabot film the car at the rear, as it drove away and turned at the first corner. Scott declared, "Okay, that's probably enough footage for a commercial. Let's wrap this up, people! Camerabot off!" That screen shut down, while all the cameras inside the car kept rolling footage."

He spoke into the walkie-talkie again. "Highway, that's a wrap. Drive into the first road you see, put out, then come back to the set!" Highway gave a "thumbs up," then turned into another dirt road, and put the car in reverse. When Scott saw him driving back, he switched the interior cameras off.

Ten minutes later, the crew saw the car return. Valerie watched Highway get out, then get Jeremy from the back. She rushed over and kissed him, then took her son.

"You were wonderful, Highway," she said. "Such skillful driving." She looked back at his motorcycle parked with her car. "So, are you thinking of trading in that old thing for this?"

"Maybe I can use that for my leisure driving," Highway replied. He strutted over to his motorcycle and Valerie followed. "But when it comes to my police duties, I could never trade this baby in."

"So you're already thinking of trading in your old car?" she assumed.

"Well, how much does the Hidieku cost?" he asked.

She'd already got Jeremy settled in the backseat of her own car. "I'll ask the clients when I see them at the presentation meeting, I promise."

* * *

When Valerie returned to the agency, however, she received a surprise from Mr. Lancer. 

"You want me to get started on the Texas pride magazine ads _now_!" she cried.

"Not this minute, but pretty soon," Mr. Lancer said. "Mr. Sussex told me of the progresses of two different projects that Stephen and Gerinna are working on. Gerinna is almost finished her part of a brochure for domestic abuse awareness, for a non-profit organization called Jimmy Handel's Home. Stephen just had an acceptance for a 30-second promotion ad for a new computer accounting program. It was for new client, Mystic Computers, Inc." He excused himself and returned with the jeans used in the billboard ad. "Probably as early as after lunch can you get started on the Texas Pride project."

"Fine, I'll get started on the presentation speech right now," Valerie said, then turned to Scott. "Scott, I'm counting on you to give it in my place."

"That's all right," he replied. "Just refer to yourself in the third person when you get to Jeremy in the backseat. The clients are definitely going to wonder who the kid in the back seat is."

Several hours later, Valerie was in her office, formulating a plan for the Texas Pride project. She said, "I was thinking about using the same format as the billboard version we worked on. Mr. Lancer didn't actually say this, but I suspect that Jim Kirkland has definitely decided to include the 18-30 age group into his marketing niche."

"He mentioned this in the memo he gave us," Gerinna said. "Didn't you get a copy?"

"No," she said, then sighed. "That could've been useful information for me, the project manager. I'll have to speak to him about that." She shook her head lightly. "Anyway, the difference between the billboard version and this magazine version, is that this time around, we'll create a series of four magazine ads, one for each color of pair."

"That makes sense," Stephen agreed.

"So, we'll call the Royal Brass Modeling Agency, make an appointment for as soon as possible, and ask for the same models as our billboard," Valerie declared, then started thinking. "Uh, do you remember who modeled which pair of jeans?"

Gerinna and Stephen shook their heads. "I doubt that even the agency will remember what models they recruited for the billboard," Gerinna replied.

"Look, there has to be other twenty-something male models working for Royal Brass," Stephen added. "Let's call for the next available appointment right now, do the casting, and if we see anyone first from the first time around, we'll automatically put them in."

"Good idea," Valerie said, then picked up the phone and dialed. When she got an answer, she requested to speak to the agency president. Moments later, she saw a young looking woman (in her fifties, Valerie could figure out) dressed in a pink blouse and purple suit jacket, her long dark brunette hair down past her shoulders. The woman smile and said, "This is Enda Peters speaking."

"Ms. Peters, it's Valerie Boston from Lancer and Sussex Advertising," she announced. "Listen, my boss received an e-mail two days ago from Jim Kirkland of the Texas Pride Jeans Company. Our billboard featuring the young male models we picked won them over so much, they've decided to expand their market to that buying crowd."

"That's wonderful," Ms. Peters replied.

"Now, they're requesting a magazine ad featuring the same pairs of jeans we used in the billboard," Valerie explained. "We plan to do a series of four, one of each color pair, and we were thinking about using the same models for this project. Do you remember who posed in which pair?"

"Let me check." Ms. Peters excused herself, and moments later, came back with a sheet of paper. She was mulling over it, frowning. "I have some good news and bad news, Ms. Boston. The good news is two of the models, Blake and Samson – they posed in the blue and black pairs respectively – they're available. The bad news is the other two, Casey and Jude, are both in Europe on assignment." She put the paper aside. "When do you plan to get the necessary photographs?"

"We wish to get them as early as tomorrow," Valerie replied. "Would it be all right if we meet with you right now?"

"Actually, I have an interview in a few minutes, someone who sent in his portfolio for a modeling job. I should be able to fill you in for right afterwards, three-thirty, would that be okay?"

"Three-thirty would be excellent. So we'll be looking forward to seeing you then, Ms. Peters. Goodbye for now." When Valerie hung up, she retrieved a pad of paper and pen. "Okay, with that done, now we need some concepts that will appeal to Ms. Peters. Any ideas?"

"Valerie, honey, we're talking about Texas Pride jeans," Gerinna said. "There's only one appropriate concept for four individual ads. A Wild West theme, one posing in a saloon, one on a deserted town street, one in a prison, and one outside a sheriff's office or barber shop."

"That's going to be a problem," Stephen said. "The only place that's got a Western flavor in this big city jungle is the Bullring Saloon, and I don't think they'll be receptive to letting us take modeling pictures there. We're going to have to ask about Wild West theme backgrounds and appropriate props. Valerie, what do you think?"

"I like the concept, Gerinna," Valerie replied, "but Stephen has the right idea. We can spend a lot less money if we do it at the agency with everything provided. Besides, there's not much around here that even resembles the Old or Modern West, just this one country club Sundown and I went to one time, and they don't operate in the daytime. No prison or police headquarters around here would look appropriate, and there aren't any cactuses or tumbleweeds around here for miles."

"And," Gerinna added, "since the shirtless thing won that company over so much, I propose we do it again for the magazine ads."

Valerie rolled her eyes. "I think they accepted the billboard version in spite of the shirtlessness, Geri." She wrote it down anyway. "We'll take that to Ms. Peters, and see what she thinks."

* * *

"I think having some of the models without shirts would be a fabulous idea, Ms. Boston," Ms. Peters said at their appointment, while examining the jeans. "It'd bring out enough sexiness in the product to capture to consumer's eye and soul, and make them feel sexy when they put it on. Thank Ms. Donalds for that one." 

Valerie nodded, already persuaded. "All right," she said. "If you think it's a good idea, then we'll go along with it."

"But I further propose that we put two models in each ad," Ms. Peters continued. "One to show the front of the jeans, one to show the back. We can put the back view models in shirts, so it looks less like we're promoting gay lifestyles. However, in a 'shirts and shoes required' situation, like a deputy's office, prison, or saloon, we'll put the front view models in T-shirts, so it's still sexy, yet tasteful."

"Gerinna, that would actually be a better idea," Valerie agreed.

Gerinna thought it over, saloon patrons and prison guards with no shirts on. Somehow, those thoughts didn't appeal to her as much. Looks much too scandalous, she decided. She said, "All right, I think I can go with that."

Ms. Peters smiled. "So tomorrow, you can select six more models to work alongside Blake and Samson. And we have Wild West backgrounds that we can project on the green screen, and props to suit the theme. I'll have it all set up for you tomorrow morning"

"That would be great," Valerie said, then she and her team shook her hand to conclude the meeting. "So we'll see you tomorrow for the photo session."

As they left, they overheard Ms. Peters say, "And now, I'll have my assistant go out and buy four more pairs of Texas Pride jeans, one in each color."

Valerie, Gerinna and Stephen spent much of the next day at the modeling agency. Valerie had Stephen oversee the set-up process, while she and Gerinna chose the young male models. By eleven o'clock that morning, they were ready to begin the photo session.

They started with the brown pairs on the deserted street background; the front view model shirtless, while the back view model was wearing a black dress shirt, to make him look like an outlaw. With plastic toy guns flashed at each other, Valerie thought this look like a realistic shoot. Gerinna, the photographer, had them switch places after a few shots. Valerie immediately shook her head and thought, _No, sexy deputy facing the camera, young outlaw facing back, much better look._

They'd finished taking pictures of the black pairs in the prison setting, and were about to start on the last shooting with the grey pairs, when they heard a bumbling voice called, "Awright, youse guys, freeze! This here's a raid!"

"Nobody make any sudden moves!" added a wisecracking voice. Valerie turned and was horrified to see all of Big Boss' crooks, not including Nightshade. Buttons McBoomBoom had his machine guns sticking from his chest as usual. Valerie immediately threw herself to the floor, and brought her project team down with her.

But Buttons noticed her, and went straight over to her. "Hello, Valerie," he said. "Ya, know, we don't remember tellin' anyone to git down on the floor." He offered his hand, but she wouldn't take it, getting up herself. "So, ya ready to give our love one more shot?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Valerie replied, "but didn't I go to the Big Boss' place to tell you all off earlier this week?"

"Buttons!" they heard Turbo Tu-Tone call. "What the hell do you think yer doin'?" He rushed over to his accomplice. "You ain't talkin' to Valerie, are ya? She don't want us, remember? We're here to bring back some beautiful–" But Buttons covered his mouth.

"Not if front of those who'll squeal," he hissed. This had him pointing his guns at Valerie, Stephen, Gerinna and the models. "If any of you takes this to the C.O.P.S., youse ain't gonna live to see another sunrise."

As they left, Valerie whispered to Stephen, "I sure hope this agency has an effective alarm system. I want those C.O.P.S. down here right fucking now!"

Everything was quiet for a short while, then they heard women screaming and the crooks yelling orders from another room, and Button's machine gun being fired. Valerie and her team, and anyone else who heard, all dropped to the floor; the project team clutching onto each other to stay together.

"Okay, now I _really_ want those C.O.P.S. here," Valerie squeaked.

"I'll bet Ms. Peters got the message from security, and is calling them right now," Stephen assured.

Valerie got her team up, and told them, "You try and continue the shoot. Make the models focus on their work instead of…" She looked towards the hallway she saw the crooks pass into, heard the orders given and muffled screams, "That."

She rushed towards the entrance way, and minutes later, she saw Bulletproof and his entire C.O.P.S. team come through – including Mainframe. Valerie rushed to them and said, "Thank God you're here. I saw those assholes run into the hallway past where we were shooting our magazine ad." The C.O.P.S. rushed past her, and all drew out their weapons when they arrived at the Texas Pride modeling session.

She overheard Bulletproof say, "You people better vacate this area for a while. This could get dangerous if the crooks come face to face." And around a minute later, she overheard him say louder, "Freeze, lawbreakers! You're all under arrest!"

Stephen and Gerinna managed to get the models out just in time, before various officers and crooks started shooting, mostly Buttons' machine gun and various magnums, but she thought she heard Mace fire his bazooka.

"Christ, I hope they're not destroying the set," Valerie said lowly.

But she turned to see Gerinna smirking; it looked like she had an idea. Valerie said, "Gerinna, what are you thinking about?"

"Valerie, who was that fine-looking gentleman in the cowboy hat and the silver badge?" Gerinna asked.

"His name is Walker Calhoun, also known as Sundown," Valerie replied. "He came here all the way from Texas to use his sheriff expertise–"

"Texas?" Gerinna repeated. "That's just perfect." She whispered into Valerie's ear, and the project manager looked surprised at her.

"Are you sure?" she said lowly. "Sundown has a job to do, and you want to interrupt that with a separate photo shoot here? I don't know what Bulletproof will say."

"I think he'll accept when we explain the product first." Gerinna looked over at Stephen. "Stephen, go find our models, and get one pair of jeans in each of the other colors." They saw Stephen leave, and Ms. Peters arrive at the brawl. Seconds later, Gerinna and Valerie prepared themselves as the C.O.P.S. escorted the crooks out in handcuffs.

"Excuse me," Gerinna said, "but which of you are Bulletproof and Sundown?" The two C.O.P.S. handed their crooks off and stepped forward.

"Thank you," she said, then looked at the rest of the team. "The rest of you can go about your business. Valerie and I want a word with these two."

They led the FBI agent and Texas sheriff, as well as the two "grey" models, into the now destroyed photo shoot area. All the props were down but remained unbroken. The green screen had a gigantic rip in it from when someone went through it, and there were enough bullet and bazooka holes for it to look like Swiss cheese.

Stephen arrived with the other jeans just as Valerie started explaining their project to the C.O.P.S. Sundown seemed pretty interested in the Texas Pride company, although he admitted, "I don't own none of what they make in my drawer."

Valerie gave them both the blue and brown pairs, and Gerinna made one model strip off his grey pair. Gerinna explained, "Well, Sundown, when Valerie mentioned that you originated from Texas, we instantly believed that you'd be just right to promote Texas Pride jeans. Especially with a Texas native as rugged and handsome as yourself, you'd be the ultimate jeans model." However, Sundown nearly became dismayed when he saw the size tag.

"Thirty-three by thirty?" he exclaimed. "This ain't gonna fit me! I wear a size forty-two waist an' thirty-five leg!" He went into a private room to change anyway, and when he came out, they saw him struggling. The jeans were barely up to Sundown's waist, he was holding the button and hook together with one hand, and he couldn't get the zipper fly done up with the other.

Gerinna looked a little embarrassed. She asked Sundown for his size again, then sent Stephen out to buy one pair of each color in that size.

"Look, Bulletproof, I know normally you'd veto something like this, but we might as well go ahead with Sundown now," Valerie said, staring at the green screen. "This'll be a 'while we wait' thing. Enda Peters will have to find some alternative area for us to continue the original with the props. Just give us two hours with him, tops. I'm sure Stephen will be back in half an hour."

Bulletproof looked reluctant, but said, "All right, if this will keep you busy while you get your project back up. But please don't do this too often. I have to keep my people on their priorities."

Twenty minutes later, Valerie and Gerinna heard a ring tone. Both felt their waists, and Valerie discovered it was her cell phone. Stephen was calling on his cell. She didn't have time to figure out how he got it; she was eager to hear good news. "Hello?"

"Valerie, listen," Stephen said, "I'm outside St. Charles Place, and I found those Texas Prides in Sundown's size at this store, Port Callbeck. I got all the colors we're working with. I gave the information to the salesclerks, they were so helpful."

"Great," Valerie replied. "We're still here at Royal Brass. Luckily, Bulletproof accepted this, though hesitantly. Get back here ASAP. I told Bulletproof two hours."

"I'm on my way." Stephen then hung up.

Immediately, Valerie instructed Gerinna, "Escort Sundown to a vacant soundstage, and take some of these props from our real project with you. Freshen him up the best you can." She nodded, and picked up a hay bale, fake tumbleweed, and came back for a cherry oak chair. Before Gerinna disappeared the first time, Valerie called at her, "You owe us, woman, big time!"

When Stephen returned, Valerie took each pair and inspected the labels and tags. "Excellent!" she declared. "The correct brand, and just the size Sundown wears. Now follow me. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can send Sundown back to his real work."

They saw Gerinna in a vacant white room, in the hallway they'd seen the crooks run into to torture the working models. Sundown was practicing his posing, with one foot on a white block and the other on the floor. He was grinning like he'd just spotted an attractive girl from across the room. Valerie immediately got the sensation that he was looking at her, and smiled back.

"Oh, yeah," Gerinna said. "Damn, baby, that looks sexy. You should moonlight as a model for Western outfitters in the city."

"Gee, haven't looked into it much, ma'am," Sundown replied, "but I can build m'self a portfolio when this is all over."

Valerie handed him the blue pair of jeans, and showed him a private changing space in the back. He nodded and went in behind a white curtain, coming out just a minute later showing everyone the Texas Pride logo.

"Oh my God, those make you look fabulous, Sundown!" Valerie breathed. "And I'm not saying that just because I'm into you, I swear. Why don't you go back to that white block and pose like you did before? I liked that one." He nodded and put his right foot back on the square.

"Ready, ma'am," he announced.

Gerinna started taking pictures of him, but after five shots, she got her idea again. "Sundown, sugar, why don't you take your shirt off? Let's see what you look like then." He hesitated for a moment, but tossed his hat at Valerie, and pulled his sleeveless shirt off. He showed off to Gerinna before getting back into his original pose.

Gerinna was amazed by what she saw. "Oh my God!" she hollered. "Valerie, you never told me he had a fabulous body! Oh, we are keeping it like that for the rest of the session!"

Valerie looked unimpressed as she watched Sundown pose at the front and back, and she said, "Okay, now I'm starting to wonder about the shirtless thing, Geri. Do you honestly think it'll help to sell the jeans here, or do you just want to satisfy something? For God's sake, you're married!" But she could see Gerinna was too emerged in taking pictures to answer her.

While Sundown changed into another pair of jeans, Valerie and Stephen decided to put away the hay bale and tumbleweed. "There's no need for these things in a room like this," she told her team. "This session is so far from a Wild West look, it's scary. But the chair would still be a nice look. We'll do that last."

Sundown came back in to brown pair, and Gerinna told him to lie down on the block facing her. He did, his head tilted so it was nearly touching his left shoulder, his face looking more serious and attitudinal.

_God, he looks so uncomfortable_, Valerie thought. _Sure hope that screen gets fixed or replaced soon, so we can get back to the real work. And I really hope that Mr. Lancer doesn't get angry over this. Maybe Mr. Kirkland can accept two series of magazine ads instead of just one._

After about twenty shots, Gerinna told Sundown, "Now roll around and show us he back. Turn around and face me. You look beautiful, you sexy man!"

"Gerinna, you're married!" Valerie mouthed at her, but she never turned to see her.

For the black pair, the block had already been removed, and Sundown was standing behind a white background. Gerinna photographed him wearing his hat first, but then made him take it off and put it on his bare chest. For the first time this session, Valerie started to feel less tense, concerned, and more loosened up. She actually thought he looked sexy with the cowboy hat on his chest. He put his hat back on, and turned around for the back shots. His hands were in the front pockets, and he grinned at Gerinna like he wanted her. But Valerie could tell he was really trying to look at _her_.

They got the chair ready while Sundown changed into the last pair. He sat down and put his boot-clad foot onto his upper leg. He put his right arm on the back of the chair and pretended to look bored. After around ten shots, Gerinna told him to spread his legs out.

Valerie was disturbed when he did so. She didn't mind staring at his crotch, but this would be shown in magazines all over North America. "Gerinna!" she cried. "Are you crazy! Mr. Kirkland isn't going to accept the ad like that! I'd nearly go for that first pose!"

But it got worse for her when it was time to model the back. Sundown got up, grabbed the back of the chair and straddled it. Valerie looked both nervous and sick. _Oh dear God_, she thought. _If this gets into the magazines, Bulletproof is going to kill me._

"Gerinna," she said, "I'm going to talk to Ms. Peters, and ask if the screen's been fixed." She left the session quickly, now desperate to get back to the original assignment.

* * *

Valerie and her team managed to complete the original magazine ad assignment at the end of that day. With the repairs the maintenance staff had to make after yet another violent bust by the C.O.P.S., the project team stayed until nearly six o'clock. Valerie was still amazed at how stressful it became. 

"It was supposed to be so swift and easy!" she lamented to Karen when she came to get Jeremy that day. "God, but I hope those fucking wardens do their damn jobs properly, and keep those crooks in there for good!"

When she got home, she badly wanted to lie down on her sofa in front of the TV. She was close to being exhausted. But she hadn't seen Mr. Lancer around when she went back to the advertising agency to clock out. As she went to her computer, she said to herself, "God, I hope Stephen informed Lancer of what went on." She typed up a report on what happened at Royal Brass Modeling Agency, anyway.

"After this, I'm going downstairs to work out!" she said to herself when she was halfway down the page.

She was in the middle of describing the "side assignment" with Sundown when the doorbell rang. She heard Jeremy say, "Don't… worry…, Mom! I'll… get it." Seconds later, she perked as she heard the boy squealing Sundown's name. She saved her memo and left her computer.

Sundown was standing in the front hall, grinning at Valerie like he did when he was posing for his ads. She was surprised, yet delighted, but still tired.

"I really didn't expect you to come here so impromptu," she told him. "Look, you understand I had a really long day today, and I'm really in no mood to go out anywhere."

"I reckoned you wouldn't," he replied. "That's why I'm keepin' ya company here tonight."

She smiled a little, and went up to kiss him. "That's so thoughtful of you. In that case, I'm so glad you came."

He retrieved his own album of romantic country songs, and volunteered to take Jeremy down to his playroom. "Don't want him intrudin' on our alone time," he said to her. She sat on the couch and waited for him. He came back up after a couple of minutes, and immediately put the CD in the player.

"You know, Sundown," Valerie said, "I was just writing about you in my memo to my boss when Jeremy announced your presence. On our way back to the advertising agency, Gerinna said something about combining the front and back shots of you to get both images into one advertisement." She touched his face rather intimately. "I can't wait to see the final products. You really did look sexy in those jeans with no shirt on. Sexier than those younger models, in fact."

"Why, thank, you, ma'am," he replied, smiling.

"Although, I must say that your back pose with the chair did look a little, um, sexual," she said. "What was with that straddle? I just hope you don't get in trouble over this. I understand that police are supposed to practice a little, um, discretion in their off-duty time. And Bulletproof would see your modeling gig as 'off-duty.'"

"You'd go down wit me, I reckon," Sundown reminded her. "This _is_ yer project, ain't it?"

She tapped his shoulder lightly. "The only trouble I'm going to get in is with Mr. Lancer if he finds the Walker 'Sundown' Calhoun version unacceptable. Then I'll tell him it was all Gerinna's idea. I think she tried to flirt with you when you and the others came into the agency."

"I reckon yer boss and that client – whoever he may be – will both love the two projects."

Then he brought her face closer to his, and puts his hands around her neck. Slowly, he moved his lips towards hers for a kiss. She didn't really know what that felt like, but she didn't care. She needed someone to help take her away from the stress of her work. They kept making out, touching each other, for the rest of the CD.

When the music was over, they both decided to send Jeremy to bed, even though it was just past eight o'clock. Valerie watched as Sundown gave the boy a bath, then she helped get him ready for bed. Afterwards, Sundown gave her that same grin, and took her to her bedroom.

"I reckon I've got just what you need there, lil' lady," he said.

He unbuttoned her blouse, lay her down on her stomach, then removed her bra. In a romantic massage, he stroked his fingertips all the way up and down her back, and rubbed it as light as he could with his hands. Valerie instantly felt relieved.

"Oh, that's so nice!" she said. "I didn't know rough n' tough cowboys like you had such gentle touches, _this_ gentle."

"All in the name of love, my darlin'," he replied softly. He began to rub her shoulders lightly. "Oh, but you've got such beautiful, touchable skin. It's soft like satin. Skin like this only deserves the velvet touch."

When he was done, he took off his shirt, bent down and started to kiss her back just like he was rubbing it. She felt his lips, turned and smiled at him. She turned around to face him, lightly touched his cheek and chin, then grabbed his arms and brought him down with her.

"Oh, Valerie, I love you," he muttered at her, "an' I want ya wit me, I do."

She was too busy kissing him to respond, so he put his hands around her back, and let the massage get more sexual.


	29. Judgment, Scrutiny, Questions

**Author's Note**: Hi, I'm back again. Well, after looking at the Chapter 29, I had just posted on the site, I looked at it, (and the original document) and decided that it was too long. So, I took all that stuff about Valerie's disastrous visit with Mace's family off here, now it's on Chapter 30. It wasn't so much work however, I hope you like the new change.

Oh, and again, I was shocked to see that Mrs. O'Malley's first name was really Linda, not Elise, as confirmed in a Yahoo! Group thread for this show. That was disheartening, since I already had a Linda in this story, and this site doesn't allow writers to go back and change names for this purpose. Sure signs of a casual fan, huh? Well, in event of me writing a sequel to this, I will be using the name Elise again if the need be.

Please read and review the newer version, and tell me if you like it better condensed.

* * *

Chapter 29

"Crooks invading the Royal Brass Modeling Agency!" Mr. Lancer cried as he was reading Valerie's report. "While you were on the job? I don't believe this! Valerie, you should consider yourself grateful you and your team weren't hurt!

It was the day after the disastrous photo shoots. Valerie had noticed Mr. Lancer was in his office, so she submitted her report in person. He lowered the paper and asked incredulously, "Do you have any idea what could bring this on?"

"Turbo Tu-Tone said something about attempting to bring back something for the Big Boss, I think," she answered. "Buttons McBoomBoom shut him up before he could say anything more, but I think he was going to say 'beautiful models.' I was somewhat relieved. At least Big Boss and his crew finally got the hint that I wasn't interested in them."

Mr. Lancer read the report further. "The green screen you were using for the backgrounds was damaged in the police shoot-out? That must've taken hours to repair! And what this about a related side project, that which obviously had nothing to do with the original assignment?" He put the paper down again. "Valerie, I'm glad you could find some way to occupy your time, but that was still a waste you encountered. And wasted time is wasted money. Of course, it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for that damn Big Boss. I'll have to have Edwin write to Mayor Davis, telling him to do something about this. I'm glad for the modeling agency's security system, but there has to be a way to keep those dastardly characters behind bars!"

"That'll happen when Mayor Davis grows some balls and quit being a pawn to all of that bastard's plans," Valerie replied. "And both you and I know that's not about to happen anytime soon."

"Well, I don't know what Jim Kirkland will think of the extra advertisements. You featured one of the C.O.P.S. in a series similar to the original. Sundown, is that one of those men you're dating?"

"That was absolutely Gerinna's idea, I swear!" Valerie said defensively. "When the C.O.P.S. arrived to make some arrests, it turns out Geri had a flirtation with Sundown before she and Stephen joined me. She wanted to know who the 'fine-looking gentleman in the cowboy hat and the silver badge' was. When I mentioned that Sundown was originally from Texas, she immediately got the idea that he'd be the perfect spokesman for the jeans. I was apprehensive at first, mainly because I feared what Bulletproof would say. Luckily, he seemed to accept the idea, and Sundown was willing to do it. Geri's busy developing those pictures, and the ones from the original assignment, as we speak. She'll probably get Sundown to put his signature on his ads when they're ready. I'm sure you and Mr. Kirkland will love it."

Mr. Lancer leaned in his chair a little bit, looking concerned. "I'm hoping Mr. Kirkland will accept this second set."

"I'll send him a letter explaining what happened, to go along with all eight ads." She cleared her throat loudly and grinned, now thinking of the Hidieku project. "So, how did everything go with those Hidieku car ads?"

Mr. Lancer had an indifferent look. "The good news is," he said, "the clients were very impressed with the magazine ad. Scott gave a good presentation on both the magazine and commercial versions. They were very attracted by the cover, said it gave them the same feeling as if they were touching the car, or something along those lines. They were ecstatic by the photographs of both exterior and interior. As for the written pitch, they commented that you have, 'a talent for pitching products," but they thought it was a bit too detailed."

"I had to get all the important parts," Valerie said. "And what about the commercial part?"

Mr. Lancer was frowning now. "Well, the clients seemed a bit turned off. Scott mentioned your decision to cast one of your other boyfriends from C.O.P.S., Highway, as well as your son, Jeremy. Before the commercial was even played, they commented that, 'casting a motorcycle expert in a car commercial is obscure.' They liked that you included all the important features, the same as your print ad, but when they saw Jeremy, they said he was, 'too ugly and weird to appear in a television commercial.'"

Valerie began to blubber, ready to cry. "How dare they say that about my own child!" she cried. "I should maybe show them that Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs ad. That was one of my crowning achievements, you know! Or maybe that Shaken Baby Syndrome commercial for the Children's Hospital! Maybe once they see how wonderful and special he is, they'll take that comment back. That was rude and ignorant, and I'm going to write to them, telling them this."

"Still, this should encourage you to do auditions for commercial actors, rather than relying on just friends and family," Mr. Lancer advised. "You and Matt were able to do this with all the models for the Pretty and Plump project. I'd like to see that from you more often."

She nodded unhappily and got up to leave. Mr. Lancer called her just as she opened the door. He said, "Mr. Sussex left you an important memo yesterday, about the activities of next week."

She nodded and went to her office, where she found a single sheet of paper tacked in the middle of her bulletin board. It was indeed a message for her from Mr. Sussex, dated the day before. The subject line read: _STAFF INTERVIEWS SCHEDULED_. It read:

_As you know, Valerie, we have just begun the important search for replacement employees. The part you and Cindy wrote in the "help wanted" ad, about showing tolerance and respect towards other workers' personal situations, proved to be necessary somewhat. Over the week, we received a healthy amount of regular mail and e-mail from people seeking employment in the required fields. Although no one stated their opinions on worker harassment or offer you sympathy in their cover letters, they assured us that they're easy to work with. More than thirty interviews have been scheduled between the period of September 29 to October 13._

_You will understand that this hiring process will be part of our mission to crack down on worker intolerance and harassment, most of which you were the main target. These interviews won't be conducted like normal; we will be asking some questions about you and Jeremy, and showing them copies of the advertisements featuring him. If we find their opinions on this subject to be unacceptable, we will have to pass on them. Therefore, I would like to ask you to sit in with us during these interview processes._

_I have approached Elise O'Malley about this matter during lunch, and she has agreed to tend to your project managing duties during the interviewing period. Hopefully, with teamwork in hiring decisions, we can replace the fired employees faster, and have both of you back to your work sooner. Please contact me as soon as you receive this._

_c: Elise O'Malley_

Valerie had already agreed to help with the interviews when she read that paragraph. She kept looking at Elise's name in the "copy" line. Valerie had dropped Jeremy off at the O'Malley house, to spend time with Brian. Maybe she'd retrieve _her_ copy from her office and deliver it to her. And she'd planned to call Mr. Sussex when she got home.

* * *

After she hung up with Mr. Sussex, Valerie called Karen to tell of her new assignment. 

"That's great news!" Karen replied. "I hope you can find a disciplinarian who can at least make some exceptions for special needs children. Someone who's less of a bitch."

"I'm sure we can find some," Valerie assured. "After all, normal parents like to think of sensible, non-psycho ways to discipline, right?"

Her sister laughed. "Non-psycho. I'm starting to see why the C.O.P.S. are so into you. Did anyone ever tell you how funny you can be?"

Suddenly, Valerie's call waiting beeped, and she noticed Bowzer's name on the caller ID. "And speaking of which," she said, "can you hold on a minute? Looks like something of an emergency call." She clicked to take the call, and saw Bowzer's image on the screen.

"Valerie," he said. "How have you been?"

"I've been doing all right," she said. "So, did Bulletproof say whether your e-mail message worked on Chief Irons? I haven't heard from him since Monday."

"It didn't work, and they've already waited long enough," Bowzer replied. "I think they've already resumed the investigation. I've been hearing colleagues say that what I did to you several weekends ago was not like me. I've also heard Barricade say how I've reformed since the others spoke with me."

"Then they don't believe you should lose your badge either." She rolled her eyes, now believing that she was his last chance. "God, some of thee people! Shall I meet you at the main police headquarters tomorrow? I'll sacrifice my lunch hour."

"Please?" Bowzer pleaded. He paused, then, "Actually, the reason why I called was–"

"I think I can guess, and I was just on the other line with Karen. She shunned away that 'rebuilding our love' part of the e-mail I gave her. She wasn't bitchy about it, but I wish she'd give you another chance."

"I knew she would. So I was just informed that I have tomorrow off. You and your family won't be busy then, will you?"

"I'm definitely free. I've just finished my part of that Texas Pride assignment I had, when you guys arrested the crooks yet again. Monday, I guess I'll judge the final product of the ads with Mr. Lancer, then Tuesday, I'm sitting in as we interview candidates looking for jobs."

"Oh yeah, Blackbelt took that all around the headquarters as soon as Cindy told him. I know I've never gotten involved in what those people said about you, giving my opinions and comforting you and all, but I'm glad they all got fired. You're a wonderful mother, no matter what anyone says, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

Valerie felt like she was glowing. "Thanks, Bowzer." She kissed her video screen.

"Anyway, I'll just get to the point," Bowzer said. "I'm cooking a very special dinner tomorrow, and I want you, your mother and your sisters to come. Just you ladies."

"I'm willing, but I don't know about them," Valerie answered. I really want to give this relationship another shot, but after what happened, they're so convinced that I can do better."

"Which is why I want them to come, too. I want them to know how much I love you, and that I am worthy of a woman who is as beautiful as you."

"Okay, how about this? I'm going to get back to Karen and tell her about you. Then, as soon as I have everyone's acceptance, I'll call you back."

"I'll be waiting, my dear." Valerie smiled and clicked the phone button, back to her sister.

"Valerie?" she called. "Valerie, what the hell took so long? I was about ready to hang up."

"Oh, that was Bowzer on the other line," Valerie said. "He invited me to his house for dinner, and he wants to see you, Rhonda and Mom, too."

"And you said yes?" Karen sighed harshly and rolled her eyes. "I really have nothing to say to him, Valerie. I'm sorry, but I'll never get past that sexual assault on you! It's really surprising that you still have feelings for him."

"He wants another chance to get back into your good book," Valerie told her. "And about that sexual assault, I'm going to help him clear that up on Monday. He needs to be cleared of those charges, desperately."

Valerie waited while Karen thought it over, making disapproving looks. "All right, I'll come. But only because I've decided that Bowzer can keep his employment with the C.O.P.S., and I'm obligated to support you helping him to get off."

"Well, you could've sounded less cynical," Valerie replied, "but thanks, anyway."

"So, I'll hang up with you and relay this to Rhonda," Karen said. "You can call Mom, and I'll call back around fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes is good. Talk to you later." Valerie hung up and quickly dialed her mother. When she answered, Valerie relayed her conversation with Bowzer, and the dinner invitation. Polly looked very displeased, and her daughter soon got that look, too, as if it was contagious.

"Oh, Mother, stop being bitter!" Valerie pleaded. "I was able to forgive Bowzer, and show an interest in repairing our relationship. The least you can do is support me."

"Valerie, my dear," Polly said, "being raped is not a 'forgive and forget' situation. You're letting your naïveté take over, just like you did when you were giving Tom all those endless chances. It's one thing to defend your parenting of Jeremy to your critics, but this is something else entirely. Can't you just tell him to leave you alone?"

"I guess I should also remind you that the e-mail Bowzer sent me did not convince Chief Stephen Irons one bit," Valerie replied. "You remember I told about that, right? Now he's depending on me to save his career. I think I owe him that. Karen has agreed to come to dinner at least to support this decision. Won't you come along, too?"

Polly paused, thinking about that last thing her daughter said. "All right, you convinced me with that last part about his career," she answered. "If he's shown any remorse – which I think he has, since you chose to forgive him – then I guess he can keep his badge and computer dog. But I think you can do better than him. After all, you still have Mace, Sundown, Barricade and Highway. And I don't think you could ever be a 'dog person.'"

Valerie chuckled a little. "Blitz's attack on Jeremy suddenly came back to you, didn't it?"

"If that mutt ripped his flesh off once, what makes me think it won't happen again?"

Valerie ignored that remark. "Thanks for agreeing to do this, Mom. I really appreciate this. I'll call Karen in a few minutes and tell her."

"Have her call me later tonight. It's been a couple of weeks since I last heard from her. I want to know what been going on with her."

"I will. Bye, Mom."

Valerie called Karen back five minutes later. When Karen's image appeared, she asked, "So, what did Rhonda say? Will she be having dinner at Bowzer's place with us?"

"Rhonda was reluctant, but she agreed to come," Karen said. "She wanted to know why you're so quick to accept his apology after what he did to you. She also questioned your decision to help him out of his legal problems, to help save his reputation. Seriously, you wouldn't have done any of this with Tom if he were still here."

"For starters," Valerie replied, "I practically raped him in order to get Jeremy, or so, that's what he'd still say. I'll have to call her later."

They talked about different things for a few minutes more, Valerie reminding Karen to call Polly as well. When they hung up again, she called Bowzer back.

"They've all agreed to come," she told him. "I think Mom and Rhonda especially have some things they'd like to discuss with you." Suddenly, she felt a tug, and saw Jeremy embracing her middle. She soon had a thought. "Oh, and would it be all right if Jeremy came along with us?"

Bowzer looked stunned, and she noted that it had suddenly come to him. "Oh, right!" he declared. "Of course I'd like to see Jeremy there. God, how I could have forgotten him?"

"Probably too many sleepless nights over your future with C.O.P.S., and winning my family over again," she suggested, giggling. _Any woman would understand that_, she thought.

* * *

"Seriously, Valerie," Rhonda said as Valerie was driving to Bowzer's house the next day, "I don't see why you would want to get him off the hook. I mean, the guy deserves to lose his career, as far as I'm concerned." 

"Gee, Rhonda," Valerie replied, "you were never this bitter towards him when I first told you. I would've expected this kind of response from Karen, the way she responded. What the hell has Richard been telling you?"

"Valerie, do you really think a sexual abuser like him deserves to have some power of authority?"

Valerie sighed. "That's exactly the type of thing I don't want you to say when we're at his house. Especially not you, Mom. And in the event of Jeremy going up to hug him hello, you won't interfere, right?"

"Valerie, I intend to tell him exactly what I think when the time is right tonight," Polly responded. "And, remember, you have four others whom Jeremy bonded with better. I don't think he's going to miss Bowzer all that much."

"God, I hope Jeremy didn't get that," Valerie muttered to herself.

They arrived at the house, and when they walked to the front door, Valerie instructed her family one last time, "Remember, nobody say anything rash." She rang the doorbell, and was immediately attracted when Bowzer answered. Dark blue dress shirt with black slacks.

"Wow, Bowzer, you look so handsome," she told him. "So sharp. You know I love it when men are willing to dress up for me." She kissed his lips three times sensually. He looked up for a moment to see her sisters behind her, wincing and whispering. Then, he looked down at Jeremy, the boy eager to hug him hello.

"Hey there, Jeremy," Bowzer said as he picked him up. "It's been so long since I've seen you." He gave him a hug bigger than Valerie kissed him. Jeremy's grandmother and aunts looked at this strangely, but they never bothered to take him from the K-9 expert's arms.

Bowzer showed the family to his living room, and said, "Dinner will be ready in half an hour." He decided to put Jeremy in a spare bedroom, away from his first conversation, and Blitz. He then retrieved five glasses and a bottle of champagne from his kitchen. Everyone except Valerie accepted grudgingly. She glared at them, ready to lecture about their rudeness, but then she caught a look at his expression, stating that he was expecting this.

Valerie got up to stand beside Bowzer, her arm around him as he began, "Ladies, you're all probably wondering why I invited you all here, and that's to ask for your forgiveness." Silence.

"I know you were all upset by what I did with Valerie here late last month," he continued, "and I understand that. I have come to regret just popping over to her house, scaring her at her door, and bringing her here against her will."

"You say that you regret it, and that's may be fine for you," Rhonda said. "Then why did you do it in the first place?"

"Rhonda, you don't know how desperate a man gets when there are others competing for the same woman's love," Bowzer answered. "And when that woman sees more of the competition than she does the man in question, how's he supposed to react?"

"Oh, let's see," Rhonda replied. "Maybe if you learned a thing or two about patience, you would perhaps call her the next afternoon, ask if she's not so busy, then invite her over to talk civil about it. You know you've done the wrong thing if your love starts comparing you to Edward Rochester in that book to outsiders."

"We don't see Valerie as just another Jane Eyre," Polly added. "You really took advantage of her sweet-natured attitude."

"And for that, I want you to know how sorry I am," Bowzer pleaded.

"You know, it really is my fault as well," Valerie said. "I think maybe I wouldn't have had this happen if I called you more often, Bowzer. I don't know, perhaps I should call men more often than when I'm just feeling lonely or bored."

"Now, Valerie, you really didn't do anything wrong in this," Polly insisted. "I may have taught you girls all about equality to men, but I know that it's still good etiquette for men to call women more often than the other way around."

"Mom, don't be so old-fashioned," Valerie said.

When dinner was ready, Valerie and her family found themselves eating in the living room. "I'm terribly sorry if there's not nearly enough room at my dining table," Bowzer apologized.

"Only two seats there?" Karen wondered. "Bowzer, did you date much before meeting my sister?"

"Karen!" Valerie cried.

"Now, now, that's an appropriate question," Bowzer assured his girlfriend, then turned to Karen. "Yes, I've had some relationships back when I was a K-9 officer in Chicago, before I'd joined C.O.P.S. Of course, I've always been faithful to my dogs as well, and the women weren't really dog lovers, and they couldn't adjust. I haven't had a relationship that lasted more than six months. Every woman I've dated was either allergic, or loved cats too much, or just got tired of competing with my canines for attention."

"Still," Valerie interrupted, annoyed, "a boyfriend's past love life is none of my business, unless I'm being harassed by one of them." She shuddered violently, thinking of Mace and Nightshade together.

"Well, Valerie's never been a dog person herself," Polly said. "Not since Jeremy was a baby, of course. And with his condition, I don't think that will ever change. Valerie's been afraid to let him be around large dogs, and pardon me for bringing up the dog attack from this summer, but I think that confirmed it."

"I think Jeremy's already gotten used to Blitz," Bowzer said. They all paused to see Jeremy petting the robotic dog's metal head. "He's usually a friendly dog, so long as you don't do anything to provoke him."

"Furthermore," Polly added, "I really don't think Jeremy can handle the responsibility of caring for a dog. I don't think he can even properly care for a hamster."

Bowzer swallowed his food, looking worried at her. "Gee, Mrs. Slamier, is there nothing I can say to prove my worthiness? Is there nothing I can do? I really do love your daughter, and care about her and her son… a lot."

"Do you even know what love and caring are?" Karen wanted to ask, but stopped herself by eating more meat and vegetables.

"Bowzer, I really don't think there is," Polly answered, regretfully. He sighed, almost ready to cry, and Valerie held him close for comfort.

Other than Jeremy's incoherent mumblings, nothing was said for the rest of the dinner. Everyone except Valerie refused a second serving. She and Bowzer went into the kitchen to eat this time. When he started his serving, Bowzer's hand went off his plate to touch Valerie's arm.

"Oh, Valerie," he said softly, "I'm starting to wish I'd acted a little more delicate when I asked you to come here that time. I wish I'd never forced you to have sex with me. I wish I could tell you sorry a thousand times, but I don't think it'll work now. I'm terrified that our relationship is doomed."

"You should've realized that I love you like I love the others," she replied. "But you understand that I also love my mother and sisters. I will still care for you, but if they make it final that I can't be with you, then I have to respect their wishes. I'll talk to them later on; perhaps I can tell them to let you down easy."

Suddenly, they saw Jeremy come into the kitchen, put his plate along the sink, stand in the far corner. Bowzer was about to ask him something when suddenly, they started to hear her sisters arguing in the living room. Valerie quickly shushed him so they could listen.

Meanwhile, Karen was telling Rhonda, "Listen, I seriously think we all need to back Valerie up in her decision to get Bowzer out of his legal trouble. Help her help him save his reputation."

"Yeah right, Karen," Rhonda retorted. "I really want a violent rapist patrolling Empire City streets, enforcing the law."

"It was only that one time, really, and only on Valerie," Karen reminded her. "You know, reading that e-mail of his that she gave me, I believe that he is sorry for what he did to her. Mind you, that doesn't mean he's coming back into her life. But that doesn't make it halfway liable for Bulletproof to kick him off the C.O.P.S. team. You think he's been doing this to every other woman he's seen since? Rhonda, it's not like Bowzer's a modern-day Jack the Ripper, who goes around killing women."

"Still, he's no better than those bastards who beat up Rodney King all those years ago. I thought _those_ officers needed a career change then, and I think Bowzer needs one now. Men like him do _not _deserve to be carrying a badge and gun. Now, I think that he should be suspended from law enforcement for at least a year, and be made to do one thousand hours of community service. And when he's off suspension, Bulletproof should not allow him to be part of C.O.P.S. again. Bowzer and his little partner should serve whatever other precinct is willing to take him."

Now Karen was getting madder. "Oh, for crissake, Rhonda! How ironic that _I_ was that cynical in the beginning!"

Then, Bowzer and Valerie heard Polly cry, "Girls, please!" Polly went to the kitchen and put her plate away, then she turned to the K-9 expert.

"Bowzer, there's one question I'd like to ask you," she said.

"Valerie and I overheard that whole argument, Mrs. Slamier," Bowzer replied. "I know what you want to ask me. Ma'am, in all my years of law enforcement, I have never acted in a psychotic manner like that. I promise you; I have never physically assaulted anyone while on duty, criminal or otherwise. The most violent I've ever gotten was when criminals tried to escape me, and I had to tackle them to the ground like a football player. And the only time I ever screamed at them was to tell them to quit resisting as I put them in handcuffs. Honestly, I would never do anything on the job that Bulletproof would frown upon." Bowzer then had a thought, and motioned for Polly to come closer.

"If that's what you're worried about," he said to her, "then I'd be a bit concerned about Valerie and Mace being together. He may seem nice and sweet towards your daughter and grandson. But when he's on the job, he's a really rough SOB. Not only is he a "let's-get-it-done-right-now" person, but he's also the hot-headed one of the group. If another team member, usually Barricade, isn't there to restrain him, he'll go hog wild. One time, I heard him cursing out like a drunken sailor to a group of punks who were carjacking. And on another case, I saw him punching out a young man breaking and entering a jeweler's. Unconscious, I might add. Mace may have this 'heart of gold,' per se, but he also likes to crack a few skulls whenever the mood strikes him. It must be the adrenaline getting to him. I'd ask him about that next time he sees you."

Polly nodded, seeming to believe him, then called for Jeremy to take back to the living room. Valerie took Bowzer's hand and whispered, "Nice, but I don't think that's going to get you off the hook."

They finished their meals shortly afterward, then she helped him with the dishes. In the middle of drying the plates, they saw Karen come into the kitchen, looking solemn. Her arms were folded as she approached the couple. They turned, and Valerie gave a blunt, yet curious, "What is it?"

Karen was focused on Bowzer, and said, "Bowzer, you may have noticed that I hadn't said much all throughout dinner. That was because since the previous incident here, I had nothing to say to you. But now, I would like to say that I wish you the best of luck in trying to revive your reputation as a police officer. I believe your apology towards Valerie was more than just empty words, but I still think you're going to need that with the big boys in the higher departments. I would think that you learned something from being suspended by Bulletproof that one time. And I also believe that Valerie still cares for you in a sense. But please don't misconstrue that as a blessing for _you_ two to marry. After you sexually assaulted her, I don't think that you would make all that great a husband for her. However, if Valerie wants to help you get off on those charges, so she can still see you on the C.O.P.S. team, then I will lend my support. But seriously, as far as a romance is concerned, I think you should stay away from her afterwards."

Bowzer held out his hand, but Karen wouldn't take it. "Thank you," he said.

"And thank you for letting say what was on my mind." She went back into the living room.

Bowzer and Valerie returned to the dishes, Valerie grumbling silently. "You would think she'd at least say, _'Nice house you have'_ while she was at it," she told him.

They had put away all the plates, glasses and cutlery, and left the pots to soak in the sink. But just as they went to join her family, they saw Karen and Rhonda preparing to leave. Valerie looked appalled at this lack of manners.

"Sisters!" she cried. "What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm sorry, Valerie," Rhonda said, "but I don't feel all that comfortable here, and I believe Karen summed up all that we have to say to Bowzer. We'll be waiting in the car." They left, and Valerie watched angrily as they walked to her car.

But before she could apologize, Bowzer said, "It's okay, Valerie. Something told me at the last minute that this was a bad idea. I kind of got the feeling I'd never win Karen's approval, the way she screamed at me at the headquarters that time."

"No need to explain yourself," Polly said. "You said all that you had to. I will be talking to those girls about their behavior when I get into that car. But I will agree with Karen on one thing, and that is you'll never make a worthy husband for Valerie."

Valerie and Bowzer were horrified when she said this, but then Polly placed her hands on his shoulders and said to him, "When Valerie called me that one day, and told me what you did to her, I was more than disgusted. I may have told you this before, but Valerie is my youngest daughter, and perhaps the most fragile of the three. I understand that you were begging to see her, and that you couldn't handle thoughts of what your colleagues might be doing with her. But you handled her entirely wrong, and you could have scared her away forever. I was there for her when Jeremy was declared mentally retarded through Tom's actions, and I was there every time Valerie tearfully brought me another story about Jeremy being spanked, by Tom or another person. What you did that night could've been demonstrated by Tom, minus all that sexual innuendo. And I'm sorry, but all the apologies you could give would not be enough for me or this family to accept you again."

She turned away to look all around the house. "I will say this, though; you _do_ have a nice, inviting home, and the potential to be a good husband to someone special. But Valerie may not be that person. You may have very well blown it with her. However, that doesn't mean you deserve to be lonely; like I said, you have potential to be a good husband. Unfortunately, you'll have to go out and find that woman to take as your wife. I understand that you've learned your lesson, and that you won't hurt Valerie again, but I can't let her take that risk in her next marriage. She and Jeremy deserve a better husband and father than Tom ever could be, and right now, I think your competition would be able to do a better job than you could. Do you understand, Bowzer?"

Bowzer looked like he was ready to cry. "I think I do, ma'am."

"All that said, I will add my support to let Valerie help you get off with the law," Polly concluded. "Despite what you did, it's obvious that she still cares for you, and I believe you deserve to keep your badge, your guns, your uniform." She looked down at Blitz, panting happily at her. "And your dog."

"Thanks, ma'am," Bowzer replied.

"Thanks, Mom," Valerie added.

Somehow, Jeremy sensed that his grandmother would make him come with her, so he trotted up to Bowzer and gave him one last hug goodbye. "Goodbye,… Bowzer," he said. "You and… Blitz… have… been… pretty… good to me. I'm… sorry… things… have to… be… like… this."

"Hey, try not to be so sad, kid," Bowzer told him. "You know you can visit me and Blitz at the headquarters whenever you want to, right?" He let go of the boy to give him one final serious message. "Listen, now whomever your Mom ends up choosing, I want you to be on your best behavior for him. You promise?"

"I… promise," Jeremy said, then smiled.

"Bowzer, you know Jeremy always behaves himself whenever it can be helped," Polly said.

Jeremy and Bowzer hugged one last time, then Polly took the boy from the officer's arms. After they left, Valerie turned to Bowzer, hugged him, then kissed him on his cheek.

"I'm sorry we couldn't work out this romance, Valerie," he said.

"Bowzer, just remember that I will always care for you," she promised. "And you can take this whole thing as a lesson on how to treat the next woman you fall for. You deserve to be married. So sorry that it can't be me." She let go, then asked, "So, I'll see you at the Empire City Main Police Department at noon tomorrow, maybe a little later than that?"

"Please?" Bowzer replied. "I need you then more than ever."

"I'll be seeing you." She blew him a kiss as she walked out the front door.

He went to his window and watched her get into her car, backing out of his driveway. She drove off, out of his love life. It took only a few seconds to realize his loss. When he did, he turned away, and sobbed for much of the evening.

* * *

The next morning, Valerie was previewing the Texas Pride ads with Gerinna. They had just finished the versions with the younger models, now they were examining the ones they did with Sundown. Valerie had immediately decided she liked the ones with Sundown better. 

"God, but I've never seen him look so sexy," she commented. "Oh, but if those pictures could move, it'd look as if he was exotic dancing. That shirtless thing was a great idea."

"Actually," Gerinna said, "he looks more like he could be a model in one of those 'hot cops' calendars. Too bad all those and the fire fighter calendars have been released in stores. Sundown here would make those babies sell."

"So would Mace and Barricade, and probably Highway," Valerie told her. She kept staring at the blue jeans ad. "God, he looks so hot with that one foot on the block there. And I like how you combined the front and back shots evenly onto one page. This is exactly what Kirkland will be looking for."

"Do those jeans make his ass look fine, or _what_?" Gerinna commented.

For the "brown jeans" ad, Gerinna had the frontal shot of Sundown on top of the back shot; it looked like the white block had been removed. Valerie smiled with approval and said, "I like what you've done here. He looks a little sexier, posing lying down like that. But he looks like he's lying on air, especially on the top."

"The block was overlapping, so I had to remove it from both," Gerinna said. Just pick a spot on the white space, and that can be his floor that he's lying on."

Valerie was immediately attracted to the "black jeans" ad. She said, "I like Sundown's hairstyle in the front shot. That hat on his chest is going to drive girls wild, I know. Too bad we didn't make hold that from the side. The consumer will want to know what he looks like without his hat _and_ showing his chest."

Gerinna glared at her a little. "Maybe you should've told me to give that instruction, Val!"

"I like the back shot on that one, though," Valerie added. "No doubt jeans stores across the country will want to use that one as one of those large cardboard cut-outs that they display in windows."

"That's true," Gerinna agreed.

But Valerie was horrified by the last ad. Gerinna had chosen Sundown's "spread legs" pose for the front shot. She couldn't have controlled what back shot to use; she knew Sundown was straddling the chair in all of them. But she pointed at the front shot and demanded, "Why didn't you go for the one with his boot on his knee?"

"I wanted to, but he looked like a bored male stripper waiting for his bus ride home," Gerinna answered. "Trust me, this is going to get a bigger response."

"But what if Mr. Kirkland gets turned off by that one? He might think that looks vulgar and disgusting!" Valerie thought of Bulletproof now. "What if Bulletproof sees this particular ad? If he doesn't slap Sundown with a suspension for indiscretion, he'll behead us both for _making_ him indiscreet!"

"So I'll see what he thinks when I take these ads down to C.O.P.S. headquarters, and have Sundown sign them all." Gerinna grinned and patted her project leader's shoulder. "I think we have a spokesman in the making here, don't you think?"

Valerie never answered her question; she just went through all those ads again, and discovered they had the same headline: _Texas Pride can make even a sheriff look sexy_. Also, the Texas Pride logo was on the bottom right hand corner of each one. "Nice," she said. "I just hope this headline won't scandalize the Texas Police too much if they see it in magazines. I don't think I could come up with anything better."

"Scandalize Texas Police?" Gerinna repeated, then shook her head. "Why would it? Seriously, Val, you worry too much sometimes." She proceeded to take Sundown's ads to the headquarters. Valerie sighed, still skeptical, then went to her laptop to write her letter to Jim Kirkland.

An hour and a half later, after taking down the address, Valerie drove to the main police headquarters. She tried to remain confident, but was mostly sick with worry and fear. She knew this was the final step towards a court appearance, where Rex "Bowzer" Pointer could lose his badge, guns, even Blitz. That, she knew, she couldn't let happen. The whole drive, she kept telling herself, "You are a persuasive, caring individual. Although you can't love Bowzer anymore, you can save him from ruination."

She was surprised to see both Bowzer and Bulletproof standing outside the main building. Both were dressed in their working clothes. All she could do was hug Bowzer; she didn't feel enough love to kiss him. When she let go, she turned to Bulletproof and asked, "Bulletproof, what are you doing here? Did Irons ask for you to be here?"

"He did, in the reply that he sent about your e-mail," Bulletproof said.

Inside, Bulletproof led the now ex-couple to Chief Iron's office. The door was closed, so Valerie volunteered, knocked and called, "Chief Irons? It's Valerie Boston, with C.O.P.S."

She was startled by Chief Iron's booming voice coming from the hall. "Just the people I wanted to see," he said. "Come with me to the interrogation room."

As they followed, Valerie looked at both Bulletproof and Bowzer, confused, "Why do we have to go to the interrogation room? I know this concerns a crime, but I expected something more like a business meeting in his office."

In the interrogation room, they saw a single table with three chairs, two on one side. Valerie looked at Bowzer and they whispered, saw Irons sitting in the other chair. They took their respective seats, but when Valerie turned around, she noticed Bulletproof standing off to the side a few feet away.

"I take it Bulletproof's only going to talk when you'll need him," she said.

Irons ignored her and began the questioning. He looked at Valerie. "Now, Ms. Boston," he said, "I want you to explain what happened the night Rex 'Bowzer' Pointer took you to his house."

"It was like any other lazy Sunday," Valerie answered. "I was alone in the house all day, because at the time, my son was away with one of Bowzer's colleagues. The day before, I had an acceptance from a radio station, JEWEL-FM, for a radio commercial I did for them. As a side 'assignment,' they had me doing a play that they present for a radio theater show, or something, so I spent most of the day doing that. I was still working on it when I first saw Bowzer that evening."

"How did you first hear from Bowzer?" Irons asked.

"I heard the sound of rocks being thrown at my living room window," she said. "At first, I ignored it because I thought it was some bratty kids; they'd eventually go away. But the sound continued, so I got up to tell them off myself. I was shocked to see Bowzer and Blitz both standing on my lawn."

"How did you react towards him?"

"I had known him to show up at my house impromptu for a date, mainly because he thought I wasn't doing anything." She turned to Bowzer. "Is that right, Bowzer?" He nodded, and she turned back to Irons. "He looked like he was drenched in water. That was the shocking thing. I thought that if he was going to be on my lawn throwing rocks at my window, the least he could do was have a love serenade ready for me. But I thought he and Blitz were going to ruin my lawn, regardless. So when I asked what he was doing on my lawn, his response was to walk up to me and gave me this long, hard kiss. To say I was blown away would be an understatement.

"I can't remember exactly what he told me, but apparently, he was sick and tired of his colleagues hogging all my attention while he got the short end of the sticks, so to speak. The next thing I knew, he was putting me into his car."

"Didn't you ask where he was taking you?"

"I couldn't say anything until we got to the house. When we arrived, all I asked was why he had to drag me to his place, and couldn't we go out for coffee."

Irons turned to Bowzer. "What would possess you to do this?" he asked him.

Bowzer sighed, thinking of the night he claimed to have banged on Valerie's door and got no answer. "The day before, I was a little peeved to hear about Mace's date with Valerie – the movies, the nightclub. That was the one where he swore he saw Big Boss and Nightshade, and later, Turbo Tu-Tone and Rock Crusher. To make matters worse, I was there at the Electric Bullet, arresting the crooks who were harassing them. I was distraught when I first learned that Mace had been there with Valerie. At that point, I think I'd been seeing her the least. The only times we'd gone out, really, was when we were walking Blitz."

Valerie sighed with him. "I guess that might be my fault as well," she suggested. "At this time, he may have been a little swamped with his work, and yet, so was I. As well as projects in various sizes at my agency, I was also dealing with co-workers criticizing how I'm raising my son, and that added to the stress. There were nights that I wouldn't make or receive any calls to anyone, never mind the C.O.P.S., because I wanted to recuperate. I know that isn't any excuse for what he did, but still."

Irons looked a little confused. "So you, Bowzer, assaulted her because you two couldn't make any time to be with each other? This doesn't add up."

"Couple that with the 'spirit' of competition at my headquarters," Bowzer replied, "and you bet I'm going to get as desperate as I was."

Irons thought about that. "I suppose that could be probable. But now, I want to discuss the day that Mace told you about his date."

"I called at around seven-thirty that night," Bowzer said. "I wanted to talk about that date, and how maybe we should spend some more time together because of the others. I had been thinking about her a lot, but like she said, I was always out on assignments when she popped by the headquarters. I don't think I'd gotten any time off since that day I spent with her son, Jeremy. Anyway, I got her answering machine, and I'd left a message describing my feelings, and could she please call me back. Well, I didn't know where she was that night; I'd assumed she'd gone out grocery shopping. I'd called back at around nine, and she still wasn't home. Ditto for when I called again an hour later.

At that point, I was nearly begging to see her, so when I drove to her house, I saw her car there. I asked myself, 'How could her car be there, and nobody is home.' Mind you, I'd known about Jeremy's trip with Barricade. She'd left some lights on, so I rang her doorbell. I stood there for about seven minutes without an answer, so I rang again. I even peeped through the front door window, and no one was showing up. So I started to knock loudly every five minutes. After fifteen, not only did I get louder, but I was also screaming her name, screaming_ where are you?_ The whole neighborhood didn't hear me, but I attracted the attention of her next door neighbor, who told me that she'd seen her go out in a blue Sedan – Highway's car – accompanied by a man in a cowboy hat and tuxedo. Sundown, I was guessing!"

Irons turned to Valerie again. "Where were you when he came to your house that night?"

The memories returned to her, and she answered, "Highway and Sundown surprised me that day by taking me to the White Apple Palace, to hear some musical numbers. It started out wonderful, but then Big Boss and his minions also showed up there. They didn't give me any trouble after I told them off for the night. Oh, then there's the confrontation with my ex-husband's father and uncle, but they were thrown out soon enough. Other than that, Sundown and Highway showed me a wonderful time. I don't think I returned home until one in the morning." She turned to Bowzer a second time. "I got your message Bowzer, but I was too exhausted to call you back, and honestly, I'd figured you'd already gone to sleep. I was still recovering all the next day. I'm terribly sorry." She rolled her eyes. "Maybe we wouldn't be in this mess if I'd called you that day to begin with."

Irons asked Bowzer, "And the next day, the day that happened, did you go to the headquarters to hear Sundown and Highway boasting about that night?"

"Yes," he replied, "and that's when I really felt sickened. Of course, Sundown also threw in his 'tall in the saddle' attitude about how he and Highway 'courageously' stood up against Valerie's ex-in-laws. I desperately wanted to call her to ask her out that night, but Bulletproof said he and Commissioner Highwater had this 'no personal calls' policy at the headquarters."

Now, Irons was looking at Bulletproof, and he nodded. "It's true, Chief Irons," he told him. "I wasn't particularly happy the day Mainframe reported that Mace had called Valerie to ask for a date on lunch hour. I've always had this rule that telephones and computers were not to be used for trivial matters. I was not lecturous, but I did give Mace a firm reminder. Why would I let Bowzer do the same thing?"

"Fair enough," Irons said, then looked back at Bowzer. "Getting back to the night you allegedly assaulted Ms. Boston, we already got what happened up until you arrived at your house. Can you tell me what you said and did to her when you were inside?"

"Gee, Chief Irons," Bowzer replied, "all I said to her was that I couldn't deal with the competition for her hand anymore, and that I was tired of sitting idly by while my colleagues were, as she previously said, hogging all her attention. I asked her why this was going on, and told her this wasn't fair to me. It wasn't! I told her about how lonely I get! Valerie tried to reassure me that she loved me as much as she did the others. I wanted to believe her, but I couldn't, at least not then. After all, she couldn't possibly love me as much as the others if she was seeing them more often, and I told her so. So I told her that her decision was staring at her in the face. She told me that I was scaring her, and she looked scared, but the truth is I wasn't meaning to."

"And what did you say to her in the bedroom?"

"Basically the same thing, with a speech of how I had to have her. And if I forced her to do anything, it was merely to touch me as I held her."

"You also rammed your penis into me, and you wouldn't take it out until the next morning," Valerie reminded him. "You hurt me, Bowzer. Oh, and then you tried to kiss it to make it all better. Mind you, that kiss was wonderfully nice, now that I think of it. But it wasn't enough to take away the fear."

Chief Irons had been taking notes the entire conversation, and frowned as he wrote down Valerie's last part. "Not good, officer," he scowled.

"And I couldn't even talk to him the next morning," she added. "There was nothing I could say to him. I couldn't thank him for that night, but then again I didn't want to say it was over, or anything that might upset him. I actually believed when he said he was desperate to have me. Frankly, I didn't know what to think. I'd talked it over with a couple of friends of mine. In confidence, though; I didn't want any more gossip to get out all over the agency. Finally, when I contacted him, I said that maybe we should have some time apart. I didn't really want to break up with him."

Irons looked at Bulletproof a second time. "And how long was it before this got to the headquarters?" he asked him.

"Three, perhaps four days," Bulletproof answered, "when her sister, Karen, dropped by to see us. I could tell this had already leaked to the family, because she looked so angry. I was shocked to hear this coming from someone I'd only seen once before. At that point, he had already returned from yet another assignment; I could listen to Karen yelling at him, and throwing some gifts she had back at him. God, she could be heard all over the building. So, I waited until I was sure she'd left, then called him into my office. Bowzer practically confessed to what had happened, and we were with Highwater at Valerie's work the next day, remember?"

"Sir, I think I'd learned my lesson," Bowzer told him. "After I came back from my week's suspension, nobody would talk to me socially at the headquarters, only when we were working together on cases. Finally, I got this impromptu chat from Barricade, Mace, Sundown and Highway." He revealed everything his competition said to him about the incident, including Mace's bit about Nightshade. Valerie shuddered again.

"Nightshade!" she repeated. "That's a name I don't wish to hear anymore, Bowzer."

Irons looked over his notes again. "And you haven't touched another woman in that fashion since the incident?"

"I haven't even _thought_ of anyone other than Valerie, sir," Bowzer said.

Chief Irons reviewed his notes from the beginning. When he was finished, he said, "Judging from what the three of you said to me, it seems that Bowzer has learned a very valuable lesson. Of course, from what I've learned about all this 'competition' within C.O.P.S. headquarters – and yes, Ms. Boston, I'm including your husband's shooting death in this – I would hardly say that you, Ms. Boston, can be classified as a 'victim.' Surely, you know that what has happened in the past month is exactly what can happen, when a woman as strikingly gorgeous as you dates more than one man at once, especially when they're all members of authority."

Valerie just sat motionless, not knowing how to respond.

"However," he continued, "I will take these notes and submit a report to Judge Davis – that's the mayor's twin brother – and see what he says. I'm glad that we could all settle this out of the courtroom."

"Me too," Valerie agreed. "Trust me, I've had some pretty bad experiences in courtrooms. And hopefully, this _Judge_ Davis isn't as corrupt as what I've been hearing about _Mayor_ Davis. I'd hate for Bowzer to lose his whole reputation over this."

"So would I, Valerie," Bulletproof put in.

She jotted down her work and home phone numbers and gave them to the chief. "Here, tell the judge he can reach me at home after six o'clock in the evening."

"I'd like to be the one to inform you," Irons replied. "But thanks, anyway."

Outside, Bulletproof turned to Valerie and said, "Your team member on the Texas Pride project, Gerinna, dropped by my headquarters with Sundown's ads a couple of hours ago. I was a little put off by the ads with him in the gray jeans. I thought it looked indiscreet that Sundown had his legs open like that, and that straddle with the back pose. I don't even know why she had him sign them all. I don't think it'd be a great idea for him to be a spokesman."

"She succeeded in persuading me, though," she said. "Maybe if you convinced him to put a share of the money towards a police widows fund?"

Valerie turned to Bowzer, hugged him one last time, kissed him on the cheek. She never said anything, as she knew that it was really over for them. She slowly walked to her car, driving back to the agency. She never bothered to stop for lunch.

Hours later, just as she was about to leave work that day, her office phone rang. She saw Chief Irons on the video screen.

"Ms. Boston, we just received word from Judge Davis," he said. "He's read the report, and agrees that you weren't much of a victim in this case. He also believes that Bowzer won't ever pull that kind of stunt again. However, he thinks that week's suspension was not enough. So he has decided to put Officer Bowzer on a paid suspension for thirty days, followed by one hundred fifty hours of community service."

"Thank you, sir," she replied. She spoke a few more moments before she hung up.

As she was leaving, she thought, _Lord, I hope this doesn't hinder on Bowzer's intentions to find a long-term relationship_. At least she knew Rhonda and Karen would be somewhat pleased.

* * *

Valerie spent the rest of the week helping Mr. Sussex with interviews. She mostly tuned out when he was asking candidates about things like qualifications, award-winning advertisements, "pick three words that best describe you." 

She only started involving herself when Mr. Sussex started asking about personal views affecting the workplace, starting with politics. Valerie listened, but she never really talked with anyone about affairs in Washington D.C. She remembered only giving short answers about wars in faraway lands. Most of the candidates claimed they never talked about religion; some even said it was, "taboo at the parties that I host." Then, they got into Valerie's parenting, showing them the ads that featured Jeremy.

At first, it was the point where interviews began to go bad. While some applauded Valerie's decision to put Jeremy in the commercials – and they could see his purpose in the Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness ad – many criticized her decision to not discipline him harshly. Kathy Hollis, an auburn-haired woman of forty, told Valerie, "I'm sorry, Ms. Boston, but just because your son is differently-abled, and doesn't have the mobility of other children, doesn't mean you can't _discipline_ him like other children."

"Not to be rude, Ms. Hollis," Valerie said, "but I've heard the yearbook answers of 'sense of normalcy,' and how they should be like other children, more times than I care to hear."

"That's just it," Kathy said. "These children are severely handicapped, but they're not so stupid that they can't learn right from wrong. They're actually smarter than people such as you like to think they are. Even children like Jeremy need to be able to fully predict the consequences of their actions. You need to trust him to do the right thing when nobody is around. A hard hand to the buttocks for serious wrongdoing can do a lot to keep him in line. And it can work, trust me.

"Before you ask, I have a nephew around Jeremy's age, also an SBS-ridden child, who is just as physically bad as him. My younger sister, his mother, is a single parent like you, Ms. Boston. She's had to scream at him, and spank and whip him until his buttocks were practically purple, but it taught him that he shouldn't be doing certain things."

Valerie didn't feel like laughing, and she didn't want to verbally assault Kathy, either, so she said to her, "Ms. Hollis, my late ex-husband did to Jeremy exactly what your sister does to her kid, even worse, and even the staff at his former school were putting up red flags, so to speak. Some even testified in my divorce, claiming they couldn't discipline him like the other children because of it. Now, I don't want to knock your sister as an unfit mother, but I'll bet she's the type who easily frustrates. That's not a good trait to have when you're raising special needs children. It takes patience to give them structure. Perhaps she could benefit from some special parenting classes." Then she thought, _I'll also bet your sister did most of the shaking, the poor kid._

Kathy was offended, and she replied, "I'm going to tell her about you! If she could meet you, she'd tell you the same thing I said, and give _you_ that same advice! She'd say you were mentally abusing your kid, being overly patient with him!"

"Thank you, Ms. Hollis," Mr. Sussex said. "We'll be in touch." Valerie waited until she was gone, then crossed her name off the candidate list.

Another candidate, Robert Scherdinger – aged forty-four with "salt and pepper" hair, dressed in a military-colored suit – tried to persuade Valerie that her doctors had the wrong views. He said, "Ms. Boston, I can guarantee that there's nothing wrong with beating a mentally retarded child as means for discipline. My sister is a nurse in a children's hospital in Salt Lake City, disability ward. She actually recommends spanking these children to their parents. I won't get into the normalcy part; you're probably already sick of hearing it, but she tells them, 'Don't be afraid to use corporal punishment whenever you feel the need to. It can help them learn right from wrong.' Many of these parents have responded, saying it actually works from them."

Before Valerie could respond, Robert gently took her hand. "Look, I'm sure that we can find some medical research studies that can back all this up. Or maybe you should just change pediatricians, Ms. Boston. The ones you have are obviously submitting to the government officials who are rejecting all this evidence."

This caused Valerie and Mr. Sussex to pass on him as well.

And then, there was an African-American woman in her mid-thirties named Darlene Vess-Jackson. Before the interview started, she introduced herself, "You may have heard of Baldwin P. Vess, Bulletproof from C.O.P.S. I just happen to be his sister." She focused on Valerie. "And you must be Valerie Boston. Bulletproof's told me quite a bit about you."

Everything was going normally in the interview until Mr. Sussex began talking about Valerie's cereal ad. Darlene stopped him and said, "Excuse me, but is this about Jeremy Boston, Valerie's son?"

"It is, actually," Mr. Sussex asked. "I take it you remember the Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs ad?"

"I have some magazines that carry it," Darlene said. "Apparently, Bulletproof learned about it through some of his men, and he pointed that kid out to me."

She glared disapprovingly at Valerie. "I don't know if Bulletproof told you this, Ms. Boston, but when he showed me your son, I told him I thought he looked like a brat. And if he's as bratty as he looks, then it really shows what kind of a punk parent you are!"

Valerie widened her eyes in shock. "Excuse me!" she cried.

"You heard me!" Darlene spat. "You practically _epitomize_ that term! From what I heard, you seem to use his disability syndrome as an excuse to spoil him rotten! Well, I'll have you know that our parents raised seven children, including Bulletproof and me. And they've used more than their hands to discipline us! They've beaten us with wire hangers, rolling pins, whips, belts, tree branches, wooden and metal utensils, whatever they could get their hands on, whenever we messed up! Hell, they've even physically put their feet in all our asses! If they told us we were bad, stupid and evil, then we were bad, stupid and evil. Now look at us! We've got a brother _and_ a sister both in the Marines, and it certainly made Bulletproof and me the people we are today. You did look at my résumé, didn't you? And you bet your damn rights I use those same methods on my kids!"

Valerie was getting emotional, but tried to remain calm. "Okay, I can safely assume that you and your husband never shook any of your children," she said.

"Perhaps you need to look at the Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness ad that featured both Valerie and Jeremy," Mr. Sussex added.

Darlene watched that commercial with particular interest, but it never fazed her. "So what?" she spat. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened with your husband. Bulletproof told me all about that shooting and all. But all that don't and shouldn't matter! In my opinion, that interview that inspired the commercial never should've happened. Lord, but I was so disappointed. Ms. Boston, when the doctors were telling you Jeremy could never learn like other kids, what was your gut telling you? What were your heart and soul telling you? Didn't they tell you to try and prove those doctors wrong, take matters into your own hands, and teach him yourself? Didn't they tell you, _'Oh, what do these people know? You can open up that can of whoop-ass whenever you feel he deserves it!'_"

"Actually, that was Tom's heart and soul," Valerie corrected. "_Mine_ told me to listen to the doctors, and take their advice. They are the experts, after all."

Darlene looked wide-eyed at Mr. Sussex. "Sir, what do you SEE in this woman? You're saying this is a professional project manager? A woman who can't and won't think for herself when it comes to her kid!" She glared at Valerie harder. "Listen, I am _so glad_ that you and Bulletproof aren't having no romance, because no way in hell would you be welcome in our family!"

Valerie looked at her boss, and could tell he'd had enough, too. But he tried to be polite about it. So he said, "Look, Ms. Vess-Jackson, I didn't want to say this, because it might result in a lawsuit. But the purpose of these interviews is to see not only who has the best skills, work ethic and credentials, but also who can get along the best with Ms. Boston about her parenting. Now, it's okay if you don't agree with her skills, but Mr. Lancer and I believe she's doing a decent job, and any bad behavior of Jeremy's is beyond his control. She's never asked for advice, and doesn't take very kindly when it comes unsolicited. She's gotten plenty more upset when people criticize and fight with her, and discipline her son for her. We've dealt with this on all counts, and we had to fire five employees because of this. That's whom we're replacing."

"So, you're not going to hire me?" Darlene guessed.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Vess-Jackson."

Darlene snatched her résumé from Mr. Sussex's. "That's okay!" she snapped. "I'll find another agency in which the working parents can all form opinions of their own!" She walked away storming.

It wasn't until that Thursday afternoon that they finally found someone she could get along with, a woman of forty-three named Marilyn Hobbes. She was looking to replace Kim as project manager. Mr. Sussex had been impressed by her career-long record – a ninety-nine percent success rate, even when she'd been project manager at her old company in Vidmark, Arizona. Valerie was impressed when Marilyn revealed, "When I was project manager for two years, I'd involved my now twelve-year-old son in advertisements promoting such things as children's sports gear and drinks, and a new children's fun house _and_ museum that had just opened in Sedona. My seven-year-old daughter has promoted a line of fashionable toddler gear in the past, and most recently, the Miami Misty dollhouse and Power Wheels convertible. Oh, but Bridget really loves her Miami Misty dolls!"

"Well, here at Lancer and Sussex, we like to encourage managers to put family members in projects whenever appropriate," Mr. Sussex assured her. "The only thing is that you don't make a habit of this all the time."

Marilyn was quite impressed by the second part of the interview. She felt horrid when Valerie told her about Tom, what he'd done to Jeremy, and the lasting effects on him. She replied, "Valerie, I am so glad you divorced your husband, though it should've happened two years ago, maybe three. That actually reminds me of one of my divorced brothers, Patrick." Valerie became even more interested in her.

When she saw Jeremy in the cereal ad, she said, "My, but Jeremy is such a cute little boy. I'll have to tell my Justin all about him. I think he'll need someone a little older to be his friend."

And after she saw the Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness ad, Mr. Sussex asked her, "Now, Ms. Hobbes, just this one question: do you think it's appropriate to spank, whip and beat a child like Jeremy for discipline?"

"Absolutely not!" Marilyn replied. "Now, you must know that I'm a spanking parent, as are several of my siblings. Although Justin hasn't needed a spanking in around four years, he certainly needed one when he was five, six and seven. I've only rarely spanked Bridget for acts of serious rudeness. And although none of us have ever shaken our children, we do have a retarded child in the family; around Jeremy's age, and just as bad as him. Patrick's ex-wife drank heavily and abused drugs during her pregnancy. As a result, their daughter was born two months premature with a severely underdeveloped brain. You try asking her, 'Corinne, what's ten plus ten? Can you tell us your ABC's?' She can't respond very well. Naturally, Patrick divorced his wife when Corinne was four, and one of our sisters looks after her while he works. But the whole family agrees that Corinne and others like her is where we draw the line!"

Valerie was immediately inspired by that story, and she whispered lowly to her boss, "I think I see a lot of potential in this woman."

When the interview ended, Valerie offered to show Marilyn out. "I'd like to get to know her better," she told Mr. Sussex.

He looked at his watch and appointment book. "It's almost time for afternoon break," he replied, "and the next interview is in forty-five minutes anyway. I guess you have some time to kill."

Valerie decided to use this time to freshen herself up. She took Marilyn to the ladies room, and when there, asked her, "Can you tell me a little more about yourself?"

Marilyn cleared her throat and said, "Well, I used to be married to a police officer for sixteen years, but he was killed on duty around nine months ago. Bridget seemed okay, but Justin was so upset, he cried up until after the funeral service. Thank God he doesn't use violence as an outlet for his grief. Me, I never had time to sit down and cry; I had two kids to raise. So I decided to throw myself into my work, demanding more assignments, often getting them done in a day, maybe two. I worked for the Vidmark branch of this company, and I was recommended to come here by my old boss."

Valerie put her lipstick away and applied a little more rouge. "What about your children? You say that your daughter likes to play with dolls, what about your son?"

"Justin loves airplanes and helicopters, anything that can fly," Marilyn replied. "Has been ever since he was a kid. He'd fly them all over the house, and even running all over the backyard, making airplane putting noises."

Valerie thought about Bullseye then, and that time he rejected her because he could never accept Jeremy. An idea formed, and she turned to look at Marilyn

"Look, I have an idea to you'd might want to hear," she said. "But before I reveal it, there's something you should know about me. You see, I have some special connections to this group of police, the C.O.P.S."

Marilyn looked confused. "I'm sorry, C.O.P.S.?"

"Central Organization of Police Specialists," Valerie told her. "Anyway, don't take this around the workplace, but I'm still in love with several members of that group. And there's a helicopter pilot among them, named Bullseye. I think you'll like him. He'll certainly get along with Justin if that kid likes flying so much. Has Justin always dreamed of becoming a pilot?"

"He realized that at around eight years old."

"Then those two will definitely bond," Valerie grinned. "So how about this – if we do decide to hire you, then one of these days, I'll take you down to C.O.P.S. headquarters and introduce you to Bullseye, okay?"

Marilyn grinned back. "That's a deal."

The women decided to go to the break room, so Valerie could introduce her new friend. She definitely wanted to persuade Mr. Sussex to hire Marilyn Hobbes now.


	30. Meet The Howards'

**Author's Note:** Okay, here it is, Chapter 30, or Part Two of the old Chapter 29… LOL. Just a reminder that, just as Bulletproof's sister appears only once in the last chapter, this is the only time we'll meet Mace's family in this story. And again, little is known about the C.O.P.S.' personal lives and families other than Longarm's. Needless to say, I will be using many of these same characters, including Sundown's family, in the event that I write a sequel to this.

Read and review this one and, just like last time, tell me if I made the right decision here. I'm unregretfully (if that's even a word) sure I did

* * *

Chapter 30

That evening, Valerie's phone rang. She was pleased to see Mace on her screen upon answering.

"Hi, Mace," she said. "What's up with you tonight?"

"I just called to tell you that I have the weekend off," Mace replied, "an' some of my family's gettin' together at my parents' place on Saturday. You've never met any of our families, have ya?"

"Only Sundown's, over the phone," Valerie reminded him, "and that was the day he and Jeremy left for Texas."

"Well, I've told my parents an' siblin's so much about ya," he said, "an' they're eager to meet you an' Jeremy. Mom's actually a lil' peeved that I waited so many months to introduce ya to the family."

"Did you tell them you and I couldn't get any vacation time during the summer?"

"They wouldn't hear _that_ kinda excuse."

"Mace, I'd love to join you at your family gathering this weekend. If I could win over most of Sundown's family, his brother being another story, then surely I can do the same for yours."

"I knew ya'd wanna. Thanks, I'm so glad."

Valerie had another thought. "So, what did your parents say when you told them you finally dumped Nightshade?"

Mace grinned and looked as if he was folding his arms. "You should've seen how ecstatic they were. They always told me that a cop an' a crook were never meant to be, romantically. When I said you were a full-time advertisin' manager, they started demandin' that I bring ya to see 'em."

"I hope you told them about Jeremy."

"I did, an' they seemed less enthusiastic somehow. They didn't know what to think. Nobody in my family's ever dealt with mentally dysfunctional kids before."

"I'm sure they'll adjust once they see how sweet Jeremy is," Valerie assured him. "And I can fully explain whenever he acts out due to his syndrome." She put the receiver to her chest and frightfully prayed,_ And, God, I hope it works with these people!_

Mace tried to assure her now. "Valerie! Valerie, my parents can be super conservative, an' maybe a lil' on the crazy side, but trust me, you'll quickly warm up to them." He cleared his throat so loudly, it sounded like thunder. "So, how _yer_ day go?"

"It was pretty good," she said. "We finally found a candidate that we're really thinking of hiring." She told him all about her bonding with Marilyn Hobbes, then they planned to see each other the next night.

* * *

It had been another busy week for Valerie, so she and Mace decided to go out to dinner with Jeremy, then back to her house for relaxation. She told him, "With getting the Texas Pride things out on Monday, and interviews the rest of the week – with more coming – I'm damn exhausted." 

"Damn, I can tell," Mace replied.

They went out to a newly-opened restaurant called Chicken Shack. After ordering their meals, Valerie said to Mace, "So, tell me all about your siblings. Anything I should know?"

"I've got four siblin's in all, an' I'm in the very middle," he explained, "Three of 'em are married, one's widowed. My big sister, Vivian, is the eldest. She's fifty-one years old, has three kids, an' an interior designer in Freehold. Her eldest son, Blaine, is twenty-four an' works in the lumber an' steelworkin' industries. He's gotta work this weekend, so he can't come. Her younger son, Mark, is twenty, an' startin' his junior year in college, studyin' to be a policeman. Plans to join the police academy after graduation. He eventually wants to follow in my footsteps an' join the SWAT team. Vivian will say he loves an' respects me the most. Then there's Alexia. She's seventeen, an' just started her senior year of high school. You remember me mentionin' that some of my older nieces are drama queens like yer Nicole? Well, Alexia's one of 'em."

"Sounds like a princess to me," Valerie laughed.

"Then there's my big brother, Jack, forty-seven years old," Mace continued. "He lives all the way out in Washington, so he won't be around. He an' his wife have three kids as well. Rebecca's eighteen, and is actually takin' time off to travel. She's signed up for a community college course, but she's on the waitin' list 'til next year sometime. Lissa's fifteen an' a junior in high school. She's another one of those 'drama queen' nieces I have. Finally, there's youngest daughter, Molly, who's twelve.

"Now to my younger siblin's. Lil' sister Joanne is a year older than you. She lives in Trenton, but her work requires her to travel quite a bit, so she won't be with us either. She an' her husband have two kids; fourteen-year-old Dexter an' ten-year-old Rosie. Lemme tell ya right now, everyone says Rosie's the bigger problem, but they're both quite a handful." He leaned in closer to Valerie. "I gotta warn ya, Joanne's said she's seen our interview with Whitney Morgan, an' she ain't too happy about it. She an' her husband are conservative, an' can be very uptight."

"Thank God she won't be at your parents' house," Valerie breathed.

And just as Mace was about to tell about the last sibling, the waiter came with the "soup of the day" that he and Valerie ordered. When the waiter left, Mace continued, "Finally, there's my lil' brother, Rocky, thirty-eight years old. He's a regular police officer in Atlantic City. He's the widower, an' is very devoted to his two sons. Benjamin's ten an' Brady's seven. They're the sweetest boys you'll ever meet. Jeremy will love 'em, I know. Of course, Rocky works day shifts while they're at school, an' devotes many evenin's to 'em. They'll also be at my parents' place tomorrow."

"He sounds so sweet," Valerie cooed. "I'm sure he can have his pick of any girl in the country." She grinned and patted Mace's shoulder. "Any girl, that is, but me."

Later on, back at her house, after a couple of movies and putting Jeremy to bed, the couple enjoyed an intimate night. They were sharing her bed, wrinkling and rolling the linens around with them in their passion. Valerie especially found Mace's beefy body irresistible, and kissed him all over his chest and abdominals, and kneading them like yeast. He quickly got on top of her and began biting her neck, down to just above her breasts.

"Oh, Mace!" she shouted. "You're so wonderful! Oh, but I love the way you act like an animal!"

"Ah, but I can't help it, baby," he grinned. "Only a body like yours can bring out the lion, the tiger, the bear in me! You know that damn well." He began to lick her cleavage, avoiding her nipples, and she laughed like it tickled. When he was done, he brought his face back up to hers. She was touching it sensually, then moved down to his shoulders and arms, until they met at his back. They were kissing and rolling around once more.

"Oh, Valerie," he said softly. "Only a woman like you could make a man like me ferget how rough an' tough I'm supposed to be. What's yer secret fer turnin' us macho men into mush?"

She snickered softly and replied, "You're still macho, given what you do to me. It's about time you big toughies faced it, when you get off your jobs, and go back to your homes, you become a solid as slushies. Especially those who see their kids." She kissed him sensually again. "And when you get to bed, you become like one of those big teddy bears women love to cuddle with. Ah, but I think you're the best-looking teddy bear of them all, especially since you like to be in my bed naked. And I just can't resist _your_ nakedness tonight."

She rolled so she was on top of him again. "Oh, Mace! You've made me forget the hairiness I've been through this week. You've made me forget how hard-nosed your family can be. In this one night, you've taken me to this paradise that you've made me share with you, and I don't ever want to leave. I love you for this."

"I love you, too, my darlin'," he whispered. "You deserve it, 'cuz I wanna remind ya how beautiful you are, what a wonderful mother you are, an' that ya deserve any man who can woo ya into his arms." He kissed her lips three more times. "My queen, you should be put on a throne, complete with a crown an' robe."

Then suddenly, Mace decided to be rougher. Their bodies were slamming all over the bed, and Valerie loved it. When she was tired, he decided to roll her over to massage her back. But in the process, he further decided to put his dragger down into her rear, and keep it in until it was morning.

* * *

The next morning, Valerie and Jeremy were leaving Empire City with Mace, on their way to a smaller city in New Jersey, called Goldrain. She tried not to look too petrified to him, but she was thinking, what if nobody got along with her? What if they decided they didn't like Jeremy? Valerie thought about when Mace told her he believed in strict physical discipline. If his whole family was the same way, they might try to harm Jeremy when he'll inevitably misbehave in their presence. That was her biggest fear. 

She adjusted her sunblocker, opened up the mirror, applied an overdose of lipstick, mascara and rouge.

Mace noticed this at the first stop sign, and frowned. "Valerie, what're you doin'?" he asked. "I don't want ya lookin' like no clown when we git to my parents' place." He retrieved a tissue for her. "You ain't that nervous, are ya?"

She grinned nervously at him and giggled. "Me, nervous?" she replied. "Oh, no, no, no. Why do you ask?" Then she lowered her head, sobbing silently in fear, "Oh, Mace, what if this turns into a disaster? What if your family looks at Jeremy and decides I'm a horrible mother? They might not bless you in marrying me. They'll make you dump me like you dumped Nightshade."

He took one hand off the wheel to comfort her. "Don't worry, babe," he assured. "They could be a lil' concerned about Jeremy, but I know my parents. They'll quickly adjust once they see how sweet an' nice he is."

She looked at Jeremy through her mirror. He was moving his head around like usual, babbling incoherently. She prayed that the Howards family would at least look past that.

Nearly three hours later, they arrived in Mace's parents' neighborhood. Valerie thought about why he'd agreed to come, and said, "So, Mace, you never told me why we were coming out here. Is there a special occasion?"

"Yeah," he said, "my Mom just had her seventy-fifth birthday just this Wednesday." Mace found the house with two cars in the driveway, and parked on the curb. "Like I said, only Vivian an' Rocky should be there. Joanne's still away on her business trip."

Now, Valerie was thinking of Sundown's mother, which brought one last question as she got out. "Mace, does you mother call you 'Colt," by any chance?"

He shook his head as he got out. "Nope, everyone in my family calls me 'Mace.' My nieces an' nephews even call me 'Uncle Mace.'" He proceeded to unfasten Jeremy's seatbelt. "Mom will only call me by my real name if she's angry, or there's somethin' wrong." Valerie mouthed a silent, "Thank you, God."

Before anyone can ring the doorbell, a short white-haired woman in a pink sweatshirt and blue slacks answered the door. She held her son before he could even get inside. "Mace!" she exclaimed. "So good to see you again!"

"Happy belated birthday, Mom" Mace replied.

"Happy belated birthday to you, uh, Mrs. Howards," Valerie said. Her nervous grin returned.

"You must be Valerie Boston," Mrs. Howards said, then looked down at Jeremy. "And this must be Jeremy. Oh, but Mace has said so much about you." She glowered at Mace a bit, "Really, Mace, you should've brought them here to meet us weeks ago. I'm sure you both must've had a free weekend to pop by and surprise us."

Mace didn't respond as he spied his father, a bald, wrinkly old man dressed in what looked like farmer's clothes, finishing up the newspaper in the living room. Valerie still had her nervous grin as Mace introduced her to his father.

"Nice to meet you an' yer kid, Valerie," Mr. Howards said. He sounded just as gruff as Mace, Valerie noticed, and she got even tenser.

Suddenly, she overheard a woman and teenage girl greeting Mace. Valerie turned to see the woman. She had the same light brown hair that Mace had, only it was graying. She wore medium-thick glasses and a purple and white-striped dress. The teenager's hair looked like it was dyed jet black, and she had a nose stud. She had on a denim jacket, a "teddy bear" T-shirt, and tight forest green pants.

"Valerie," Mace grinned, "I'd like you to meet my sister, Vivian, an' my niece, Alexia."

"Pleased to meet you," Valerie replied. She shook both their hands weakly.

Mrs. Howards looked somewhat disapproving. "Now, Valerie," she said, "you can wipe that nervous grin off your face. I'm not nearly as God-fearing as Mace put you up to think." She picked up Jeremy, and Vivian took Valerie's wrist. "Come into the kitchen. You two must be hungry. I'll fix you all some bowls of instant chicken noodle soup. Mace, would you like some?"

He nodded. "Sure, Mom."

"I'll pass, thank you," Mr. Howards said.

While the soup was heating up, Mrs. Howards said, "So, Valerie, tell us a little more about yourself. Mace says you work as what, advertising official for a magazine?"

"Just advertising, ma'am," Valerie corrected. "I've worked for Lancer and Sussex my whole career, starting out in one of their smaller branches in Parrish, Indiana – the only advertising agency in that town, mind you – where I'd lived with my now ex-husband. Don't ask me about that. Let's just say it was a marriage made in hell that jumped the shark early on."

Vivian looked somewhat sympathetic. "Too bad for you," she said. "I've been married to the same one for twenty-eight years."

Valerie looked a little irked, but didn't respond. "Anyway, I'd tell you about all my successes in Parrish, except I'd bore you all to death. I'll just say that out of thirty employees, I was the hardest-working one, according to my boss. Only during the latter stage of my marriage did I really throw myself into my job, which is how I got promoted to Empire City. And again, I've had so many successes here, I'd bore you if I mentioned them all."

Suddenly, Alexia interrupted and pointed at Jeremy moving his head around. "Let me guess," she said, "weak neck muscles due to Shaken Child Syndrome?"

"I call it Shaken Baby Syndrome," Valerie said. "But how did you know?"

"Had to write a report on it for bio," Alexia answered.

"Did you feature Jeremy in any of your projects?" Vivian asked.

Valerie nodded, and started bragging about her Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs ad. "This particular decision made him spokeschild for the cereal. Ask if I have any regrets. No way!"

Mr. Howards and Mace came in just as she got into the Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness commercial. Though she knew it wasn't really her project, almost everyone looked sympathetic as Valerie told about how Jeremy was maltreated on the set. But when she looked back at Mr. Howards, he was frowning at her as if he disagreed, as did Vivian.

By this time, the soup was nearly done. Valerie quickly searched the cupboards for a smaller bowl, and instantly took one. She waited until it was finally ready, then poured enough soup to fill it. Mrs. Howards looked dismayed at her.

"Is that supposed to be for Jeremy?" she asked. "That's all you're going to give him?"

"That's all he can handle, this one with no crackers," Valerie answered.

Vivian watched Jeremy's slow eating with equal dismay. "Okay, that's pretty stingy to feed him like that, don't you think?" she asked. "I know Mace mentioned that boy's small stomach, but it's liquid food."

"He gets serious stomachaches if he eats too much, too fast," Valerie told her. "Even from soup. My, ex-husband Tom, would feed him big plates, and tell him to eat every scrap, never mind if he got sick as a result." She looked as Mrs. Howards. "Mrs. Howards, I suggest you give him a small plate for dinner tonight."

"Bah, don't listen to her, dear," Mr. Howards scoffed. "Small stomach, weak muscles, those outbursts you mentioned, Mace! All those don't matter to me one bit!" He pressed on Valerie's shoulder. "Now, ya listen to me, missy! I don't care what problems yer boy has, if he steps outta line even once today, he's gonna get it!"

Mace and Valerie glared at him, then returned to their lunch. She looked at Alexia again, and decided to make conversation. She said to her, "You know, you kind of remind me of one of my own nieces, Nicole. She's into the whole punk grunge look and music, too. Nicole's only fifteen. And how old are you?"

"Seventeen," Alexia answered. "I'm due to graduate at the end of this school year."

"I know you'll get along with Nicole like the best of cousins," Valerie replied. "That is, if I end up with your uncle here." She smiled, looked at Mace, then put her arm around him.

Vivian then started bragging, "Don't you be fooled by this look, Valerie. She has a bit of an attitude at times when she's home, but she helps out with her high school lunch canteen, and has a job at one of our malls, a store called Hard Rock City. Have you ever shopped there?"

Valerie shook her head. "I'm afraid all the rock instruments and clothing and other stuff they probably sell would make me feel out of place. I'm sure Mace would love it there, though. I like rock music, though I listen to lots of other stuff too, classical, country, oldies."

"Yeah, when I went for the interview, they looked at my dyed hair and nose stud, and thought I'd be perfect," Alexia added. "They said I looked like I could… EWWW! Valerie, your kid is slobbering all over the place!"

Valerie rushed to get some paper towels. "Yeah, Alexia, that'll happen sometimes." She wiped off his face and clothes, then looked at Mace's parents. They were shaking their heads and sighing. She thought she heard Vivian say to her mother, "She doesn't care about that boy's appearance."

Valerie tried to ignore her. She finished her soup quickly, but just as she was about to start more conversation, the doorbell rang. Mr. Howards excused himself, then moments later, the family overheard him say, "Rocky, so glad ya made it. Joanne, what a surprise to see ya here!"

Joanne! Mace and Valerie gave each other worried glances. "Oh, shit!" she muttered. "Mace, is this the sister from Hell you were telling me about?"

He decided to brave himself, and took both Valerie and Jeremy to the front hallway. They were soon facing a tall man, with darker brown hair in a crew-cut, but noticeably piercing blue eyes. He didn't have the same facial features as Mace, but certainly had his body mass. Valerie thought he looked stylish in a black sweatshirt, with a brown leather jacket and black jeans. His two sons looked like mirror images of him, but the older one was wearing what looked like a football jersey with a player's picture on it. The younger one had a sweatshirt with airplanes on it. The woman had a mixture of dark and light brown hair, wavy, down to her shoulders, but the glasses and business suit made Valerie think she was a younger version of Kim Masterson. The way she was looking at her, too. The boy had the same hair as his mother, but the bangs were covering the forehead. His T-shirt had a rock band she couldn't identify, and he wore brown jeans. The girl had blonde hair in a bun, and wore a pretty pink dress with black Mary Janes.

Mace introduced them all. "Uh, Valerie and Jeremy, I'd like you to meet Rocky and Joanne, and these are the kids, Ben, Brady, Dexter an' Rosie."

Valerie's nervous grin returned as she caught Joanne staring her down. "Uh, nice to meet you."

Before anyone could respond, Rocky picked up Jeremy and said, "Hey, Mace, isn't this the kid on that Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs cereal box?"

"It is," Valerie answered, feeling a little more confident. "Is that your boy's favorite cereal?"

Meanwhile, Mace said to Joanne, "Uh, sis, I thought you were in Hong Kong to confirm a deal."

"Well, my idiot partner fucked up the whole thing because he couldn't master the Chinese language," she complained, "and the clients thought we were making fun of the way they spoke. They cancelled the deal immediately and sent us back here. I called as soon as I got home last night, to tell you I'd decided to join you here. But you were never home."

"I spent the night with Valerie," he said. "We wanted to leave early in the mornin', so I thought it'd be best to stay there, rather than run back to my place after the date, get up super early, an' rush to her place to pick her an' Jeremy up."

Joanne folded her arms and glowered. "Figures you'd be with your bitch!" Before Valerie could respond, she turned on her. "Valerie Boston, on behalf of this whole family, what in hell are you doing with my big brother?"

Rocky slugged his older sister. "Joanne! Valerie seems like a nice woman, and Jeremy seems like a sweet, harmless kid. We discussed this in the driveway! Give them a chance!"

But she grabbed Valerie's arms and shoved her onto the living room couch, anyway. "Listen up, you permissive little bitch!" she spat. "I tuned into that _Eye on Empire City_ show that night just to see my brother, Mace, describe his relationship with you and that brat of yours! Now, I'm not saying that I totally agree with your husband; I can admit he'd carried things too far. But I thought that doctor was wrong when she claimed Jeremy isn't smart enough to manipulate anyone and cause lots of trouble! Anyone with a working brain can see he definitely is! And here, you submitted to what Dr. Know-It-All told you, and manipulated your family into abiding by your wishes! What's wrong with you!"

"Nothing's wrong with me," Valerie answered. "Do you even know _anything_ about Shaken Baby Syndrome? Do you know how much trouble these kids have with learning and comprehension, and physical things like balance?"

"And from what I learned, you do _absolutely nothing_ to help him correct these problems!" Joanne shouted. "Instead, you just sit there and accept that he can't do shit! That is weak and lazy parenting in itself!"

"Correct these problems!" Valerie repeated. "See, that's another example of other people's ignorance! They assume that a special needs child's problems can be cured through some kind of medication! Wrong! If you knew anything about SBS-ridden child, you'd know that their effects are lifelong and irreversible."

Joanne just glared at her. "Well, I don't get why kids like Jeremy are called 'special needs' children. You know damn well the last thing they need is to be treated special. They need their fair share of discipline, too."

"_Joanne, stop!"_ they heard Mace boom from behind. "Quit comin' down on Valerie like that! She's only doin' what she believes is right!"

"Looks like they brainwashed you, too, big brother," Joanne replied. "How surprising coming from someone who firmly believes in serious physical discipline. I'll have you understand that none of us would be where we are today, if Mom and Dad hadn't beaten the shit out of us when needed!"

Mace turned to his father, but he just said, "She's right, son. You'd all be dead or with a prison record if it weren't fer that!" He glared harsher at Valerie. "An' that's exactly where Jeremy's headed if ya don't step up to the plate now, an' quit coddlin' him!"

Suddenly, they heard Alexia yell from the kitchen, "Rosie, stop teasing him like that! Quit pulling his hair!" Then a crash and bang, and Jeremy crying loudly. Mace, Joanne and Valerie all ran to the kitchen just to hear Alexia announce, "Aunt Joanne, your daughter just shoved Jeremy into the cupboards and knocked him down!"

Mrs. Howards and Vivian joined them from outside. The women sighed, and Mrs. Howards picked up Rosie and scolded, "I can't turn my back for a minute with you, can I?"

Valerie noticed a red spot on the back of her son's head. "I'll keep him inside for a while," she said. "Mrs. Howards, if his head starts to bleed, I'll need to know where the gauze is."

And before anyone can do anything else, Mace took Rosie and said, "Maybe someone needs to go outside fer a while." He took her out to the backyard, where Rocky and the other boys were tossing around a football.

Later, Valerie was outside with Vivian, Mace, Rocky and the kids. Vivian offered to hold Jeremy, and as soon as she got him, he started rolling his head around.

"Does he do this all the time?" she asked.

"Not all the time, but pretty frequently," Valerie told her. "It'd probably be a good idea if you just let him do that. If you grab his head and force him to stop, it'll seem as if you're trying to hurt him."

"I got that," Vivian said, "but I don't think Dad or Joanne will be receptive to that. Dad especially expects the kids to sit straight and properly at dinner."

Valerie got up and looked through the glass, at Mrs. Howards and Joanne starting dinner. She said, "I wonder if I should go in there and offer help? Maybe this'll be my chance to warm up to your mother and sister."

"I don't know," Vivian replied. "Joanne doesn't seem all that interested in bonding with you, and Mom only likes people helping her if she asks them."

Valerie sat back down and watched Rocky toss the football to Mace, who tossed it to Dexter. The men and boys were positioned like the points of a pentagon. Suddenly, after Benjamin tossed to her younger brother, he called to Jeremy and went over to him.

"Jeremy, you want to play catch football with us?" he offered.

"He's not all that physically inclined, I'm afraid," Valerie replied. "He won't be able to catch with his short arms, and if you throw too hard, you just may hit him in the head." Benjamin shrugged and went back to his place.

This prompted another conversation for Vivian. "So, Valerie," she asked, "what other school subjects can't Jeremy do? What kind of school is he attending?"

"Oh, he loves Language Arts and Art," Valerie responded. "He's an avid reader, and it's probably one of the only things he can do to keep from getting bored if he can't watch TV. He especially loves it when I read to him. Too bad I didn't think to pack any books along."

"Rosie would probably try to steal them," Vivian said. She tried to look through the glass door into the kitchen. "Did Mace ever tell you how naughty she can be at home?"

Valerie thought of the previous incident in the kitchen. "He did, but I wonder if Joanne maybe put her up to it. Judging by what Mace said about her, I think maybe she told Rosie and Dexter not to play with him. How could she decide to dislike me just by one stupid TV appearance?"

She shrugged it off, and continued with the original conversation. "Anyway, Jeremy can't do Math very well, and the only Science he was ever good in was animal studies. With Social Studies, his interests include geography and cultures, but he just sucks at History."

"I can understand the History bit," Vivian agreed. "How is he in foreign languages and music?"

Valerie shook her head. "No can do! Jeremy talks very slowly because of his brain damage; I doubt very much he'd be able to sing. And he can't hold stuff very well, so musical instruments are out. And forget foreign languages. He had to drop French in the winter trimester, before I came to Empire City. The teachers said he couldn't pronounce words very well. He spent much of the last school year with specialists."

"So I guess he's not in a regular school then."

Valerie shook her head again. "It'd be a bad idea, considering how harder it gets. He goes to a special school for the mentally handicapped." She started telling about Prince Richard's and the selected subjects Jeremy was learning.

"That'll go over well with Dad and Joanne," Vivian replied sarcastically. She said the same thing twice, imitating them both. _"What kind of mother are you, limiting your kid's education like that?"_

They saw Rosie leap off her chair and run back and forth in front of them. Valerie looked perplexed and asked, "Has she been diagnosed as bi-polar?"

"Doubt it; Joanne never said anything about it," Vivian answered. "She's probably bored. Maybe I should ask her to find this girl something to do."

Suddenly, Rosie grabbed Jeremy by his legs and pulled him off her aunt's lap. The women were horrified as he banged his head on the ground. She started dragging him all over the yard, screaming and laughing. The game of catch football suddenly stopped as Valerie and Alexia pushed past Benjamin to get to Jeremy. Mace, Rocky and the boys noticed this, and they joined the chase. But Rosie was a little quick for them.

She continued to drag Jeremy through the gravel-ridden path as she took him to the front yard. All this time, he was screaming incoherently for help. Valerie and Mace motioned for the others to stay off as they continued chasing her all over the yard. Finally, Mace tackled her as Valerie helped pry her hands from Jeremy's legs. She had him take Jeremy as she grabbed the girl's arm. "Can I handle this, please?" she offered.

She dragged Rosie all the way back to the kitchen, and opened the door so hard she nearly shattered the glass. Mrs. Howards looked horrified at her, but she showed no remorse as she threw Rosie off her.

She glared at Joanne so hard, Mrs. Howards had to restrain her to keep from slapping. But Valerie turned Jeremy around to show his shirt and pants ripped at the back. She spat at her, "Look at what your damn daughter just did! Didn't you hear us screaming at her to let go of Jeremy! Why the fuck didn't you come outside and help us! Did you feel that Jeremy was getting what he deserved, huh! Is that it! Look, I understand if you have a beef with me, but do you have to encourage your daughter to bully my son! I want to know what you plan to do about this!" Soon, Mr. Howards joined them, and she shifted her anger to him as well. "And you, sir! You look outside your living room window to see what's happening, and you don't come out to stop it! You let Mace and me do that all by ourselves! What the hell is wrong with you, anyway! You make me sick!" She immediately took her son into the bathroom to check for head wounds.

About a minute later, she heard Joanne arguing with her mother, and Mace yelling at his sister, "I ain't got nothin' to say to ya!" He appeared before Valerie, helping her with Jeremy. He sighed and said, "What'd I tell ya? Rosie's a bigger handful, even though she's younger an' a girl. Dexter's actually behavin' himself, though. That's a first."

"Shit!" Valerie lamented. "Look at him, Mace, he's bleeding from the back of his head, all down his neck, trickling down his back. And look at these rips. Thank God these are an older sweatshirt and jeans." _If this was one of the new clothes Sundown bought for him in Texas, he'd kill me._

Mace was cleaning blood from the wounds, but Valerie decided to take over. "Go ask your mother where the bandages are. And I don't mean Elastoplasts or Band-Aids; we're going to need something big."

Just as he left, she heard some whacking noises, then Rosie screaming and talking back, and more whacking, then Mrs. Howards telling the girl to go downstairs and not turn on the TV or stereo. Valerie smiled. Moments later, the senior woman appeared in the bathroom on Mace's return, a large roll of white bandages in her hand.

"Here you are, Valerie," she said. "And you don't have to worry about Rosie anymore. You probably heard what went on. I spanked her bottom good with my wooden spoon here after Joanne refused to do so."

"Normally, you know I'm not a spanking advocate, but in this case, I'll make an exception," Valerie agreed.

"She said, 'Gee, Mom, I'd love to, but we're talking about a spoiled brat and his permissive mother here,'" Mrs. Howards told her. "I know you probably won't want to, but we'd like you and Mace to stay for dinner. I already told him you two should, and he's agreed to do so."

Valerie thought it over for a little while before Mace whispered lowly in her ear. She said to Mrs. Howards, "All right, I'll stay. But the kids will probably be eating downstairs, right? I think Jeremy should stay upstairs with the adults. I want Rosie to be kept away from him, and you can relay that to Joanne!"

When Jeremy's wounds were all bandaged up, Mace picked him up and said, "Son, I think you an' me should go back outside. I think my nephews wanna finally play with you." Valerie smiled and followed them to the backyard.

They stayed outside until dinner was ready. If family members weren't playing "Ring-Around-the-Rosie" with Jeremy, they were raking the leaves falling in the backyard to make big piles, for the boys to jump into. At around five-thirty, Mrs. Howards called, "Family! Supper's on!"

Valerie could smell the aroma of roast beef when she got inside. She went over to the stovetop. One pot of boiled potatoes, another with corn on the cob. On the counter beside the sink were two plates with wrapped tin foil, one containing scalloped potatoes, another containing baby carrots. Then, a Corningware dish filled with a microwaved can of peas.

"Mrs. Howards, this is heaven," Valerie commented. "I didn't know you could cook so much, so good."

"I had Joanne's help, remember," she reminded her.

Valerie waited until she and the other adults served themselves, then she volunteered to serve Jeremy first. She retrieved a small plate from the cupboards, cut off two pieces of meat, and skipped the corn and boiled potatoes. She put on one spoonful of scalloped potatoes, carrots and peas each.

Except for Mace, all the adults looked dismayed at the small serving she gave Jeremy. Mrs. Howards even asked, "That's all you're going to give him?"

"That's all he can handle," Valerie said. "And this might be a good time to add that he can't eat corn off the cob – he finds that difficult – and he chokes on potato skins!"

"That's bullshit, Valerie!" Joanne shouted. "A kid his age can handle corn on the cob very well! Furthermore, he should be eating potato skins because they're healthy. Choking, my ass!"

"Small stomach or not," Mr. Howards added, "if ya wanna marry our son one day, then _yours_ has gotta learn to appreciate my wife's cookin'." He proceeded to take Jeremy's plate and put his meal on a bigger one. He added another slab of meat, and another spoonful to the vegetables, plus five boiled potatoes with skins and one foot-long corn cob. Mace and Valerie were shocked at the additions.

"Dad!" Mace bellowed. "You really expect him to eat all that!"

"If he don't," his father replied, "he'll get a spankin' an' no dessert."

"Oh, like he'll have any _room_ for dessert when he finishes three-quarters of that!" Valerie protested. She cut his extra meat and said, "Try to finish at least half of that, okay, honey?" She took his corn cob and shucked some kernels off, smashed his boiled potatoes.

"Valerie, what are you doing?" Vivian asked. "Stop that! Make him eat from the cob."

"His mouth is a bit small to handle it!" Valerie insisted. "He can handle small spoonfuls of kernel corn and creamed corn, but not this!" She set the rest of the cob aside for herself. Only Rocky and Mrs. Howards seemed to accept that.

Jeremy started off on his meat and vegetables very well, though he was eating slowly. This prompted more strange looks from the family except Mace.

"And what's your problem with _this_?" Valerie sneered. "Jeremy's stomach can only digest small bits of solid food at a time! This isn't like when you fed us soup, Mrs. Howards!"

"Well, he can certainly eat a little faster than that!" Joanne criticized.

Mr. Howards concurred by slamming his hand on the table and bellowing at Jeremy. "C'mon, kid, eat faster. It's gonna get stone cold!"

"Dad, quit yellin' at him like that!" Mace objected. "It ain't gonna make him behave any better!"

"Mr. Howards, it would really help for you to learn a little patience," Valerie advised. "You're not dealing with a child who has top-notch physical and learning capabilities."

"Dammit!" Mr. Howards yelled. "I've had years experience in raisin' kids! Quit tellin' me how to discipline!"

"Well, I'm just sick of people criticizing me for having special discipline styles for Jeremy!" She thought of what went on at her work. "Two weeks ago, we actually fired some people from the agency I work at for this." She began to tell her long story about the Shaken Baby Syndrome commercial, the confrontation meeting they had after the presentation, and the difficult, yet memorable interviews she was currently helping with. However, she felt a little better when she talked about Marilyn Hobbes.

By the time she was finished talking, she noticed Jeremy's plate was more than thirty percent finished. Rocky looked at his parents and said, "You have to give this kid credit. He's actually showing better table manners than most of our kids do. Notice how he's just taking his time."

"See, someone thinks I'm doing the right thing with Jeremy," Valerie said. "Thank you, Rocky!"

Then, Jeremy started to put one baked potato in his mouth. He chewed and chewed, and managed to get the potato part down. But he kept chewing on the skin. Vivian prompted him, "Jeremy, try to swallow the skin, okay?"

Valerie smiled and said, "Now that's something I like to hear when you speak to Jeremy. Thank you, Vivian!"

He slided the skin across his tongue to the back of his throat. The next thing Valerie knew, he started making choking and gagging noises. His face quickly turned red, and Mace quickly got up. He took Jeremy from his chair, grabbed the boy's chest, and made pumping movements.

"What the hell is wrong now?" Joanne barked.

"It's the potato skins!" Valerie insisted. "I told you he chokes on them. They're difficult for him to digest!" Just then, Jeremy was spitting all saliva-induced bits of brown skin out.

"Some of the bits he chewed must've got lodged in the back of his throat," Mace observed as he cleaned up. Valerie glared at her critics, and took the skins from the rest of the potatoes.

Fifteen minutes later, Jeremy plate was two-fifths finished, and he started to feel full. "Ooh," he said. "I don't… think… I… can… eat… much… more."

Valerie looked disgusted at Mace's parents. "See what happens when you put so much food in front of him?" She saw he still had bits of roast beef, and instructed him, "See if you can finish all that meat, then maybe some scalloped potatoes and peas, then you can be excused from the table."

"No, Valerie, he's tellin' a lie!" Mr. Howards insisted. "Jeremy, you eat every scrap from that plate!"

Jeremy finished what his mother told him to eat, then he could really feel himself getting full. He said, "I… can't eat… any more!"

"Finish yer supper!" Mr. Howards barked. "One more peep outta you before that, and ya won't sit down fer a damn month!"

Instead of eating, Jeremy screamed so loud, "NO! IF I… EAT… ALL… THIS… I WILL… EXPLODE! I CAN'T… HANDLE… THE… REST… OF THIS!"

Infuriated, Mr. Howards leapt from his chair, removed and folded his belt. Valerie tried to shield Jeremy from him, but it was no use. Mr. Howards used his strong grip to tear Jeremy away from his mother, then force him into the living room. The other adults watched as he positioned the boy on the coffee table. Valerie and Mace were soon horrified as his father began belting Jeremy's rear end.

He was screaming so loud, it attracted the other children from the basement. But Mr. Howards ignored it and screamed, "Shaddup, ya brat! This'll teach ya to listen to me!"

Meanwhile, Valerie was screaming and begging for him to stop, but Vivian and Joanne tried to silence her. When she attempted to go over and stop it herself, she found the sisters grabbing onto her, trying to barricade her.

"Let our father do his thing!" Joanne insisted. "He's only trying to teach that boy a badly-needed lesson."

Finally, Mace had enough. He grabbed Valerie, brushed past his sisters, then the couple managed to get Jeremy away before Mr. Howards could finish belting. Jeremy was crying so loud, Valerie swore they could hear him back in Empire City. She and Mace got busy comforting him.

Joanne looked sickened. "What the fuck was that for, Valerie!" she yelled. "Dad was only trying to instill some discipline! Whip that kid into shape! Why'd you interfere?"

"Well, what the fuck were _you_ all thinking, belting Jeremy like that to get him to behave?" Valerie screamed. "What was THAT going to accomplish, huh!"

Even Vivian was against her now. "He refused to finish his dinner, and you wanted to let him get away with that?" she cried. "I think Jeremy had it coming. If only you'd told him to eat everything from his plate, rather than let Dad tell him for you, this could've come out a whole lot differently! If all our kids behaved the same way your son did–"

"Oh, save it!" Mace boomed. "Jeremy ain't, an' will never be, like the rest of yer kids! You should've understood that!"

"Colton!" his mother barked angrily. "Don't you shout at your sister!" She shot narrow eyes towards Valerie. "It's disgraceful that you don't feed your child enough! What kind of mother are you?"

"The kind of mother who knows the limits of a mentally retarded child!" Valerie snapped back. "I commend Rocky for at least learning some of them at dinner, but I don't think the rest of you know anything about the lifelong consequences of Shaken Baby Syndrome! These kids end up with more limits than normal children. You should be ashamed of yourselves for expecting mine to surpass those limits!"

She was focused on the whole family as she prepared herself and Jeremy to leave. "I suggest that each one of you educate yourselves on this dreaded syndrome, so you don't act so ignorant towards other parents like me. Even you, Rocky, I'm sure you'll find some interesting sites after a quick Internet search." She looked over at Alexia again, and remembered what the teen told her at lunch. "Or maybe you should ask Alexia over there for her biology report." She slammed the door hard on her way out, en route to Mace's car.

The member of SWAT just glared harder at his family. "Y'all happy now!" he roared. "I love Valerie with all my heart an' soul, but she might not wanna date me anymore 'cuz of this!"

"Just as well, son!" his father replied. "Right now, Mace, I'd be a lot happier if ya went back to Nightshade tomorrow! That Valerie woman was worse than she ever was! At least _Nightshade_ would take time to discipline her kids without guilt or self-limitations!"

"Damn right!" Joanne concurred. "What the hell did you ever see in her, Mace? She's not firm enough with her son, and he's spoiled rotten!"

"I disagree with you going back to Nightshade," Mrs. Howards said. "Mace, I think you could a lot better than either of them."

"I don't know who was worse at the dinner table, her or Jeremy," Vivian said. "It's one thing if a kid eats slower than a snail moves. It's quite another if his mother takes authority of how much and what her child can and cannot eat in someone else's house. That's just rude!"

"I concur, daughter," Mrs. Howards said.

Mace said one final speech to his family as he prepared to leave. "Rocky, I thank you for havin' the decency to be polite to Valerie, an' showin' her some respect fer her child-rearin'. So glad ya like her, brother. Mom an' Vivian, I dunno. If I recover from this disaster, maybe I can forgive you two. An' as fer Dad an' Joanne, if Valerie ends up choosin' one of my colleagues from C.O.P.S. 'cuz of what happened today, I swear to God, I'll never talk to either one of ya again! Hell, it may be a good long time before I ever set foot in _this_ house again!" He slammed the door on his way out, not as hard as Valerie though.

In his car, he found Valerie still sobbing in the passenger's seat. Jeremy had his head off to one side, looking like he was sleeping. Mace held her close to him and shushed her to stop crying. He said, "It's okay, sweetheart. I'm sorry fer all that happened today. I sure hope this won't affect our future together. I really do love ya, babe, I mean it."

"Oh, Mace, you've been so wonderful to me," she replied through her tears. "Thank you for all you've done." But she'd already made her decision. She'd tell him when it was time, but where a long-term relationship was concerned, Sgt. Mace now had no chance.

* * *

A/N: Only one more chapter to go. Yippee! Who will Valerie choose? It's worth sticking around. See you next – last – chapter! ; ) 


	31. Last Tangos Before Deciding

**Author's Note: **Hello, readers and C.O.P.S. fans! Well, here it is, the final chapter of this dramatic romance. This story took quite a bit out of me, but in the end, I'm hoping it was all worth it. I feel comfortable with the outcome – Valerie Boston's final choice – and I hope you're comfortable with it, too. I guess, here I should remind you that there are references to two real-life movies here, _Moonstruck_ and _Cheaper by the Dozen_. I own nothing of these movies (that would be Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and 20th Century Fox, respectively.)

Oh, and one last bit of C.O.P.S. news. The episode entitled_ The Case of Mace's Romance_ (his romance with Nightshade which I put out of its misery in Chapter 27) is now available for viewing on Google Video Player. If you do not have this on your computer, you'll have to go to the Yahoo! Group for this show, or the forum in this show's section of the G.I. Joe General Joes website. Look for the subject line, "The Case of Mace's Romance on Google Video Player" or somewhere along those lines. I'll send this to SonicJay as soon as I look at it.

Anyway, happy reading, and don't forget to review.

* * *

Chapter 31

When he dropped her off, Mace was gently kissing Valerie at her doorstep. She wanted to feel the same love that he did, but she couldn't. She knew there couldn't be a future with him if she couldn't get along with his family. But here and now, she decided to go along with it. Like she'd told herself before, she'd break up with him when she felt it was right. In this case, it would be when the C.O.P.S. came to her asking for a final decision.

She managed to stay calm long enough to get Jeremy changed and into bed. After she kissed him goodnight, she went into her bedroom forlorn. She stared at her empty bed, thinking of the previous night she shared with Mace. Suddenly tearful again, she fell upon it and began to cry a second time.

"Why!" she sobbed. "Why do people have to judge me as a mother just because my son can't do everything that's asked of him? Why do people expect so much of him? And where the fuck are they getting this idea that Jeremy is capable of growing up to be a functional member of society? _I'm tired of this shit!_" She looked up at the ceiling, trying to talk to the Lord. "Are they crazy? Are they on crack? Don't they know the life expectancy of a severe shaking survivor? If he lives to be eighteen, he'll probably just live only a few more weeks afterward." She knew she never told her critics this, but it wouldn't really matter, she believed. Who would listen to her?

She thought of Sundown, and what he told her about his brother and sister-in-law, Chuck and Gloria. Chuck was exactly like Mr. Howards to her; and Gloria, like Joanne. But Valerie knew the rest of the Calhoun family loved her, so why were _they_ acting so hostile towards her, especially when they hadn't met her?

"Didn't Sundown tell you his brother was conservative?" she asked herself. "He must've." The memories of Sundown sharing his Sunday dinner story were coming back to her, Chuck attempting to paddle Jeremy the way Mr. Howards belted him.

"Maybe it's time for you to meet this Chuck, and tell him that you mean well," she said to herself. She sat next to her bedroom phone and dialed Sundown's number. "Ask Sundown when his brother will be coming into Empire City." But she waited through six rings and got no answer. She hung up furiously.

"Maybe next time I see Sundown," she said, "I'll loan him some money so he can _buy an answering machine_!" She decided to change clothes and go to bed now. "You've had such an exhausting day, Valerie. Maybe things will look better tomorrow morning."

She fell asleep and dreamed of Highway, Sundown and Barricade the whole night. She felt good knowing she still had _them_.

* * *

Late the next morning, Valerie called her mother and relayed her visit with Mace's family. Polly was shocked when she told her how Jeremy's clothes were ripped when Rosie dragged him on the ground. 

"Not that sweatshirt I gave him for Christmas when he was eight!" she cried. "Oh, but I don't think that girl has any respect for anyone else's clothing or other things."

"I was so glad that Mrs. Howards took care of it when Joanne didn't," Valerie said. "She told me she whacked Rosie with her spoon, but I don't think she showed any remorse for it. I didn't hear any crying."

"Obviously, she thinks spanking is a joke," Polly supplied. "I wish I could've been there. I would've used a big steel spoon that I've dipped in hot liquid beforehand! _That_ would get her attention!"

"Oh, but you won't believe what happened at dinner. Are you sitting down?" She started by explaining the small plate she'd originally prepared, then stated, "Mrs. Howards basically suggested that I wasn't feeding him enough."

"That's ridiculous!" Polly blasted. "That's pretty much the same thing I give him when the family has a roast beef meal at my house! And that woman had the nerve to say that it's not enough for him?"

"But that's not all," Valerie added. She told her about the additions Jeremy received, including the potatoes with skins, and the corn on the cob.

"You're kidding me!" her mother nearly yelped. "All that food, _plus_ a whole cob of corn, _straight_ from the cob? He wouldn't be able to fit two rows of kernels in his mouth that way. And I've seen Laura do that when you two were still speaking. He couldn't finish three-fifths of his plate! I certainly hope you shucked some corn from the cob for him."

"Much to Vivian's protests, yes," Valerie answered. "And Joanne was criticizing the slow speed in which he was eating, which Mr. Howards added by yelling that it would get 'stone cold.' Not even Mace accepted the yelling. But apparently, his father's not the type of parent who likes to be told how to discipline, this after I told him to have patience with Jeremy. At least Rocky complimented him for taking his time."

She mentioned Jeremy choking on the potato skins, and Polly was more disgusted. Polly said, "I guessed that would happen. Why didn't you take the skins off beforehand?"

Her daughter rolled her eyes. "Take a wild guess, Mom. Joanne would've made me leave them on, because she insisted they were healthy. You should've seen how I glared at _her_ as I was removing them."

Polly didn't look surprised when mentioned how much Jeremy ate by the time he started getting full. "But he had all this meat left, and I told him to try and finish that," Valerie continued. "It turned into this shit argument on how much Jeremy should eat. He finished his meat, and ate some more scalloped potatoes and peas okay, but I could tell that would be it for him. But Mr. Howards wouldn't accept it. That man even threatened to spank him if he didn't clean his plate!"

This made her tearful again, as she explained the belting Jeremy got as a result, and the fight she had with Mace's family; Vivian and Joanne trying to restrain her, the confrontation they had when Valerie rescued her son.

When Valerie could calm herself down, "I basically told them they didn't know a good goddamn thing about Shaken Baby Syndrome. They don't! So before I left, I told them to educate themselves on this, and understand the limits of these children. You think I want another Shaken Baby Syndrome parent to go through the same hell I did? I also mentioned Alexia's biology report, and suggested they look at that. I doubt it'd be enough, though. You should've seen how quickly I got into that car. God only knows what Mace said to them, but he told me they thought I was worse than that damn Nightshade!" She sighed miserably. "I think his parents will tell him to date a single mother who has normal, completely healthy children."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Polly agreed.

When Valerie revealed her decision with Mace, Polly said, "I agree, dear. Call him and tell him it's over now, and you'll break his heart. I know you're not the type of person to do that. Best to let him down easy when you've come to a final decision."

"Which I may need your help with later on," Valerie added.

She spent much of the afternoon calling Karen, Rhonda, Cindy and Elise, relaying her disastrous day. Both her sisters were sympathetic. Karen never commented on her family's possible reaction, but Rhonda did.

"I guess this means you and Mace can't get married now?" she said. "Caleb's going to be so disappointed when I tell the kids; he actually thinks Mace is the coolest one, you know."

Valerie nodded, then said, "You remember how nice Sundown and Barricade were when they came for my birthday? Tell your son that he can get along easily with those two as well. I know Jeremy really likes them, so Caleb should have no problems either. Same with Drew and Sheldon. I'm picturing Barricade taking Jeremy and all his boy cousins to the lake next summer, and Sundown can teach them all how to lasso."

"Yeah, but I really liked Mace," Rhonda said. "I thought he was such a gentleman when you two came for dinner with Aunt Margaret there, remember? At least I admired him sharing my concerns for the crime wave here in this city."

Valerie frowned. "And yet, I still remember that time when you were lusting after Barricade, that day he picked Jeremy and me up to take us to the park. Remember when we were living with you temporarily?"

Rhonda looked embarrassed on the phone screen. "That's because I thought he looked fashionably handsome in his threads." She sighed and lowered her head. "Thanks Valerie! Now I don't know which one I want for you."

"If you want to help me, you'll have to decide between Sundown, Barricade and Highway," Valerie said. "I think Mace is telling his colleagues about how he and I just may be finished, as we speak."

Her eldest sister looked agonized as she tried to decide for her. Finally, "I'll talk this over with the kids, okay? I'll call you back when I decide who the best is."

Cindy and Elise came over as soon as Valerie told them what happened. They brought both their sons along. While Tyler, Brian and Jeremy went to play in the basement, the women went to the dining room, so Valerie could tell her story.

They were shocked when Valerie explained the introductions, but Elise was more confused. "Wait," she said, "You said Vivian was the elder sister, not Joanne? I kind of expected _Vivian _to come down on you immediately about your parenting."

"Maybe she would've ten years ago," Valerie replied. "When Mace told me how her kids turned out – her youngest is seventeen – I'd guessed that she had cracked the whip with them a few times, about school and everything. But she was surprisingly polite about it, and we even had a warm talk about Jeremy's schooling. She even had Jeremy sitting in her lap." She got up and offered the women egg crèmes, and they accepted. She went to the kitchen.

"Now, Joanne," she continued, "damn, was she ever uptight. She saw my interview with Whitney Morgan, and Mace warned me she wouldn't be too receptive with it. Right away, she gave me this shit lecture about how I wasn't doing anything to help him correct his problems, and how I'm lazy to just sit back and accept this, and how Dr. Grenoble was wrong about it! See what I mean when I said they didn't know anything about Shaken Baby Syndrome? If she did, she'd understand that Jeremy's malfunctions can't be corrected, and harsh corporal punishment won't help anything. Of course, their father was no help either." She served three glasses of egg crèmes. "He didn't care about Jeremy's problems." She mentioned Mr. Howards' threat to spank Jeremy and added, "He had the gall to tell me that Jeremy would end up in prison if I don't physically punish him more. This after Joanne reminded Mace the same thing of _them_!"

"What an ignoramus!" Cindy scoffed. "I would've definitely told Mace we needed some time apart."

"Oh, Mace was so sweet, like they all have been to me," Valerie said. "He was very quick to defend me against his family. And at least his older niece knew some things about Jeremy's condition; she noticed his moving head and concluded the weak muscles. And his brother, Rocky – oh, but he was just as sweet as Mace was. He never said one unkind word the whole time. But I think Joanne hates me so much, she even got her daughter to bully him."

She mentioned the incident the kitchen while Joanne was lecturing, when they heard Jeremy being beaten up, and Alexia's claim that Rosie did it; as well as the incident where she dragged him all over the property.

"She did not!" Elise gasped. "Oh, that poor Jeremy!"

"Time to take the wooden spoon on her!" Cindy commented.

"Which Mrs. Howards did," Valerie stated. "She took matters into her own hands. I still can't believe Joanne wouldn't! She _is_ Rosie's mother, after all!"

Then she started talking about the dinner. Both Cindy and Elise looked morbidly disgusted when Valerie mentioned the amount of food the family made Jeremy eat, the criticism Valerie got when she was telling him what to eat and how, and she was near crying when she got to Jeremy being spanked for refusing to, "clean his plate." Then, the fight she had afterwards, the extra criticism.

"You should've seen how fast I got out of there," she said when she stopped crying. "And how loud I was yelling at them! I basically told them to get a fucking clue about Shaken Baby Syndrome, and if Mace ever brought home another mother like me, they'd better treat her with the respect they wouldn't give me." She chugged a third of her drink. "But that wasn't the last of it. On the way home, Mace said his father thought I was worse than Nightshade! Oh, right, I'll bet Nightshade would get _her_ kids into the criminal life, or spoil them at Mace's disapproval. I can definitely see her getting her _daughter_ to become a cat burglar. He got the sense that I wouldn't pick him, because he said he'd sever ties with his father and younger sister. I think it would be a good idea if he did!"

"That has to be craziest dysfunctional family I've ever heard of," Elise said. "Yeah, it makes me glad I'm with Longarm, and not Mace." She drank some of her drink. "Get a clue about Shaken Baby Syndrome? Those people? I don't think so, Valerie! If they have it in their heads that it's okay to spank a child like Jeremy, you really can't convince them otherwise. You remember those co-workers we had fired?"

"I think I mentioned that at some point in the dinner, yes," Valerie answered.

"Think of what it'd be like after you and Mace get married," Elise said. "You'd have to move to San Francisco or Phoenix or somewhere else, just to get away from them. Your marriage would depend on it. And can you really afford to leave this city?"

"Face it, you're better off not having anything long-term with him," Cindy added.

Valerie nodded, and thought of Sundown again. She said, "I may have told you this before, but when Sundown took Jeremy to meet his family, he said that only his brother and sister-in-law had problems with his behavior. At least _his_ parents were okay with it, so was his sister. What do you suppose my chances with him are?"

"Did Sundown say that his brother wouldn't speak with him again if _you_ two married?" Elise asked.

"He did, but next time I go over to his place and if Chuck's there, I'm going to try and reason with him," Valerie said. "I decided this last night. I have to. The rest of the Calhoun family loved me enough to accept Jeremy; I think his brother should be the same."

"Now you and Sundown _would_ have better chances," Cindy said. "One bad apple can't possibly spoil your chances with the whole bunch, can it?"

"He is pretty devoted to me," Valerie observed. "I'm praying it won't."

* * *

When Cindy and Elise left, Valerie went to the freezer, mulling over what to prepare for dinner. She had been too busy recovering to take anything out to thaw. Maybe order a pizza for herself and Jeremy. After all, it'd been awhile since _she_ paid for dinner. She was going through the Yellow Pages when she heard the doorbell. 

She was surprised to see Highway at her door with a full plastic bag. "Highway!" she said. "How nice of you to come over… unannounced, as usual. Let me guess, you heard about what happened with Mace, and you wanted to cheer me up?"

Jeremy had been watching TV aimlessly, a football game he wasn't paying attention to. When he saw Highway come into the house, he trotted over to hug him hello.

"Actually, Mace told me himself at lunch," Highway said. "He told me about how you couldn't get along with his family. I could assume _you_ two have no hope now."

"What's in the bag?" Valerie asked. "You even took care of dinner?"

"That I did," Highway answered. He went to the kitchen and retrieved a rotisserie chicken, and two medium-sized containers of potato and macaroni salads.

"Oh my God!" she gasped. "Highway, I love this! Oh, I just _love_ potato salad most of all! Jeremy will love this! Oh, thank you for doing this." She kissed his lips rather quickly, and he blushed a little.

"Hey, it's the least I could do for the woman I love," he said.

Valerie deboned a leg and wing for Jeremy, and gave him one scoop of each salad. When she and Highway sat down, she asked, "So, Highway, when do I get to meet _your_ family?"

"That depends," he answered. "When are you going to pick me, or are you?"

She almost spit out her mouthful, but managed to swallow. "Wow, straight to _Final Jeopardy!_" she said. She coughed a little, and looked directly at her dinner date.

"To tell you the truth," she said, "I still can't decide who I want." She sighed, and he could tell she was confused and a little frustrated. "I know that with Bowzer and Mace officially out for me, it should be simpler. But Barricade and Sundown still treat me as wonderfully as you do, remember that."

"And you're scared of breaking their hearts?" he guessed. He smiled and took her hand.

"Look," he said, "I think it's obvious who you should pick now. I'll have you know I'd just gotten off my shift when I picked this up. This is one of my many ways to show how much I love you, and what I'm willing to do for you. When Mace told me and some others that he was scared that you'd leave him, I actually pictured you crying on your sofa, crying over what would have been for you and Mace, crying over the family you couldn't get along with."

"I see," she said. "And what did you tell your parents about me? _When_ did you tell your parents about me?"

"That night after you showed me the Neapolitan Ice Cream Puffs ad with Jeremy in it," Highway told her. "When I came home from my shift, the first thing I did was call my mother; she lives in Sacramento. I told her I was finally in love, and talked about you for over an hour. She wanted to know more about your career, and Jeremy's syndrome. She was so disappointed that I didn't get my paid vacation; she said she was just dying to meet you. I talked to all my brothers and sisters about you; they want to know why I haven't even sent them your picture."

She giggled. "You never took any pictures of me to begin with, Highway. Or Jeremy. Hell, I've never even seen you with a camera."

"I'm serious, Valerie," he said. "Why are you carrying on like this, giving me, Sundown and Barricade the runaround like cattle?" He stared at the white bouquet he gave her. "You remember that note that accompanied this? I mentioned you meeting my family, and that's one thing I'm determined to do. Yet I can't unless I know we have some kind of future together. I love you that much, maybe even more than that."

She touched the nape of her neck, as if her breath had been lost. "I understand how much you love me," she said, "but I feel like you're pressuring me."

"Believe me, I'm not," he said. "I'm just trying to make you see."

After dinner, Valerie and Highway decided to send Jeremy to his spare room, while they listened to some music on the jukebox. They went through the list of all the CD's, selecting some of their favorite slow dancing songs. They decided not to say anything, just give each other intimate glances. Valerie was even more confused, but she tried not to show it. His looks were telling her how much in love he was, how serious he was.

After several dances, they'd go over and select some more songs. In about an hour, they'd dance to an entire album's worth of love music. It was then that Highway said, "All right, that's good enough, don't you think? I've been on my feet all day, I think they may be starting to throb."

"What say we go upstairs for a movie?" she suggested. "Want to watch _Cruel Summer_ again?"

"Sure," he replied.

On their way up, Valerie went to Jeremy and said, "Honey, we're going upstairs now to watch a movie just for Highway and me. If you need us for anything, just call, okay?"

"Sure, Mom," Jeremy replied.

This time around, Highway and Valerie had watched until the female lead characters had arrived in Miami. Highway suspected it was the movie setting, but Valerie was acting as if she was feeling hot. At the very first love scene, they started getting intimate, lying of the sofa. Most often, they would keep making love when those scenes were over, so they never watched the rest of the movie much. They never heard Jeremy call for anything at all. As soon as they heard a song in the movie play, they looked up, saw the end credits. She looked at the clock; the time said it was ten minutes to nine.

"It must be time to get Jeremy in bed," she said. As she got up, "I'll go check on him. He must have just fallen asleep."

"I'll help you," Highway said, following her.

They saw Jeremy sleeping in his beanbag chair, his head perched on his left shoulder. Valerie cooed and went to take his book. She was disgusted when she looked at the cover.

"_Caddie Woodlawn_?" she said, "Yuck, boring! I had to read this when I was in fifth grade. No wonder Jeremy fell asleep so fast. I don't know what possessed Karen to give him this. Or maybe it was Rhonda."

Highway picked him up and carried him to his bedroom. As Valerie was helping him change the boy's clothes, she watched to see if he would wake up. He did as they were putting his pajama top on.

"What…" he began. "What's… going… on? What… time… is it?"

"It's almost time for bed, sweetums," Valerie told him. "You looked tired anyway." She slid on his pajama bottoms, and he started to fall asleep again. Highway pulled back the bed covers, while Valerie placed his head on the pillow and tucked him in. She kissed his forehead, then they quietly walked out, the lights turned out, the door closed.

They kissed all the way down the hallway. Valerie said, "I think we may have time for another movie. Let's see what's on the cable movie channels."

In the TV Guide for that evening, the only good movie on to her was the old, classical _Moonstruck_. But it would be over in an hour, she observed. She shrugged and said, "Let's watch the rest of this, then we can go to bed ourselves." Valerie turned the TV back on to that channel, and she and Highway were back in their old places on the sofa, watching a really intimate scene between Cher and Nicholas Cage.

By the time the movie was over, Valerie started to feel tired herself. Highway got up and said, "Well, I think I should get going if you're ready to hit the sack."

But she had sensed that they'd be asking for a final decision, and grabbed his arm. "Not so fast, speed demon," she said. "You suggested at dinner that I can't keep up with the 'multiple dating' thing much longer. If that's what you think, then I think maybe we should have just one more night together. Wouldn't you agree?"

She looked like she was innocently begging, not the "puppy dog eyes" look; it would make her desperate. He was immediately persuaded and said, "Well, I think you just may be right. All right, one more night." He offered to pick her up and carry her to the bedroom, but she refused.

"You can't just throw me down on the bed tonight," she said. "I want to look special and pretty just for you."

She slipped into the room and retrieved a pink silk negligee from her drawer, then disappeared into her small bathroom. She had the door open a crack, as she was tossing her regular clothes out. She could hear him saying, "Valerie, you deviless! You're turning me on here!"

Valerie closed her door and changed into her sleepwear. She re-did her makeup to have one layer of foundation on her face, purple eyeshadow, and one coating of hot pink lipstick. She spent several minutes brushing her hair. By the time she'd opened her door to surprise Highway, she'd caught him in nothing but his underpants, pulled down past his buttocks.

He turned and grinned at her, then she got surprised as he dropped his underpants to reveal his nudity. "Highway!" she gasped. "Are you sure you don't want to leave something on for me? I put this on just for you, you know!"

He was tugging on the negligee with his hands. "And you look so sexy in it, believe me," he said. "But you know they design these things just for the man to take off, right?" And with the instincts of all the jungle cats combined, he threw her down on the bed.

He climbed on top of her and began to kiss and fondle the cleavage she was showing. He ran his hands around to her back, looking for the lace strings. She managed to get her head up to his shoulders, and she began to nibble his left one.

"Mmm, did I mention how I love the taste of a man's muscle?" she said.

Highway looked at her, still fiddling with the negligee strings. "The taste of my muscle, huh?" he inquired. "You just wait until I get this off. How about the feeling of my body?"

Within a few minutes, Valerie could feel the cool air in the room falling upon her breasts and stomach, the negligee sliding off her. When it was completely off, Highway began to press his chest against hers, put his arms back around her. He stared into her face for a little while, then kissed her long and lustrous, all around her lips and neck.

"Oh, Valerie, I beg of you," he said softly. "Please say you'll end all this right now, and choose a relationship with me. Don't you understand how badly I need to be in love? With you, no less?"

"Ooh, we're charming desperate are we?" Valerie replied. "Tell me, are you like this with every woman on the Empire City police force?" She rolled over so she was now on top of him. "I'll bet they think you're too much of a heartbreaker."

She kissed him just as lustrous for a few moments, then looked down at his chest. She put his hands upon his pectorals and rubbed them in a circular motion. Then, she placed her hand palms upon his nipples. She loved the feeling so much, she pressed down on them.

"Oh, God!" she cried out. "Oh, Highway! I can't get over what a beautiful body you have! You're just like the others, just as sexy as Sundown and Barricade!" She was suddenly calm as she thought of them both again. "Oh, shit, what would they think if they saw us like this?"

Highway started to look annoyed, at the very mention of his colleagues. "Oh, Valerie, fuck what _they_ think!" he blasted. He gently shoved her off him, and she landed on her side. "Why bother thinking of _them_ when it's just you and me tonight? Why can't you stay focused on me? Oh, but if you choose me, I promise I'll be the husband that Tom never was to you. I promise I'll be the father of Jeremy's dreams."

"Father of Jeremy's dreams," she repeated. "You do understand this means spending at least eighty percent of your off-time with him, when he's not at school."

"I do," he promised. "I was able to tell you what a good time he had at the waterslides when you were finished crying, remember? And you don't have to remind me about no screaming or physical punishment to discipline. I understand the special measures. I've gotten to know him far too well to do that."

Then, Highway gave Valerie a look, a look that told her she had to forget Barricade and Sundown, forget about her worries about Jeremy, not think about anything else that could spoil this special time. She stared down at his chest again, and pushed him over so he laid on his back. This time, she was kissing all over that chest, looking disappointed that she couldn't see her pink lip prints on his skin. He could easily make her feel better with another lustrous kiss on her mouth, and they were rolling and moving all over the quilt in their passion for a long time.

Valerie woke up nearly eight hours later, realizing they'd never been under the covers. Highway was still sleeping, so she snuck into her bathroom to take a shower. He woke up several minutes later to the sound of running water.

She was busy lathering herself with soap and body wash, ridding herself of the sex smell. She saw the curtain open and Highway standing outside, still naked, grinning happily.

"Thank you so much for sharing last night with me," he said. "I hope it helped with your decision."

She was about to respond when he stepped in to join her. "Wow," he said, "a shower big enough to fit the both of us." He put his arms around her for what seemed to be the seventh time. "But in case the sleep wasn't enough, maybe I can persuade you further here."

She backed away two inches from him and said, "I'd rather not this time, Highway. I have to get ready for work, and we have to get Jeremy up and ready for school. This is a really bad morning for lovemaking in the shower. If you want to help wash me, that's fine. I can help with you also, and we can get out faster this way."

Highway looked disappointed, but he knew she was right. "That's a deal," he said. He took the bar soap and began to rub her back, trying to think non-sexual thoughts.

* * *

At the beginning of this particular work week, it seemed as if the hiring of replacements was starting to improve. Already, Valerie and Mr. Sussex had seen three candidates they wanted to hire – people who wanted to support Valerie's special parenting techniques, and took an interest in Jeremy. 

Peter Loveless, a young man of twenty-eight with sandy hair like Barricade's, was horrified when he saw that Shaken Baby Syndrome awareness commercial. He said, "Too bad you fired the project supervisor on that; that's sure to get everyone's attention. Seriously, though, the look of Jeremy's face in that first ad was enough to convince me that he is very delicate… no, make that _fragile_. I highly agree with you that children like this one should not be spanked or punished in any way that's deemed harsh. Of course children this damaged are difficult to discipline – and that's why it's wrong to shake a baby, or drink and/or do drugs during pregnancy to begin with. My wife and I just had a baby several months ago, and I'd just kill myself if I ever thought of doing that to my daughter."

He looked sympathetic to Valerie. "Ms. Boston," he said, "if I could meet those people who kept giving you trouble on that commercial, I'd tell them all to get a clue! From what you and Sussex told me, I can't imagine that Jeremy would be the type who'd understand anything he's asked, never mind do it."

Sandra Shelley, a beautiful, white-blonde haired woman in her late thirties, said after the commercial, "I know that was just acting, but was that really Valerie and her husband when Jeremy was a baby? That is just sickening! I can't understand what would make freaks like Tom Boston behave this way. And my cousin is studying to be a nurse; she's told me all about this Shaken Baby Syndrome thing. Oh, I agree, laying a hand on him to discipline wouldn't work in this condition. After all, what would he learn? He'd just keep doing that same bad thing, right? Maybe if the courts had put Tom in jail, and Valerie moved out of there _before_ Jeremy became retarded, he could've been saved. At least the treatment centers would come up with something to reverse the effects and make him normal, right?"

"Ms. Shelley," Valerie said, "let me remind you that the effects of Shaken Baby Syndrome can never be reversed. Even if Jeremy was given all those tests and medicines, it wouldn't work at all."

"I wish that weren't true," Sandra replied. "Valerie – may I call you that? – I promise I won't say any negative things about your parenting. Of course, you have no choice but to raise Jeremy differently from parents with able-bodied children. I'm tragically sorry this ever happened to you."

Richard Thomas, an African-American man in his early forties, looked disgusted and disturbed watching the commercial. Before Mr. Sussex could finish asking him about it, Richard immediately started speaking, "That brings back haunting memories of what my ex-wife did to our daughter, Jadae. And all for the same selfish reason your husband had – she never wanted to have a damn child! Bad enough that Adeline attempted a self-abortion with a wire hanger when she was seven weeks pregnant, but she also resorted to drinking to make herself miscarry. And there was nothing I could do to stop her. Poor Jadae came out so tiny, the doctors didn't think she would survive a week. I should've left Adeline then, but she persuaded me our little girl needed a mother.

"Much to my dismay, Adeline was no mother. She started shaking Jadae from the first time she came home from the hospital – six weeks old. And she would shake her every time the baby made even a small googling sound. She was also physically abusive with her, too. There were times I'd come home from work, and she'd be banging Jadae against the dining table like a rag doll, screaming, 'I hate you! I wish I never had you!' over and over again! Like you, Ms. Boston, I was the one taking the girl to the hospital, and she was declared retarded at only eight months old. That woman kept beating her regardless until the day that girl died."

He had his hands in his face, crying at thoughts of his daughter. "Jadae was only six years old, and it was syndrome-related causes. Of course, I divorced Adeline immediately after, it was granted to me in nine weeks, and the judge sentenced her to forty years in jail without the possibility of parole. Jadae would've been thirteen this past June. God, but I miss her so much!" He looked up at Valerie with his tear-stained face. "Ms. Boston, not only will I support your anti-spanking views on this matter, I think maybe we should work on awareness more, so there are fewer Shaken Baby Syndrome cases in the future."

Valerie nodded rapidly, moved and speechless. She whispered something in her boss's ear, then went over and held Richard. She said, "I'll call the Children's Hospital and ask if they'll want more commercials. And we'll also see about magazine and newspaper ads and billboards."

* * *

Valerie had seen all this by the time Sundown called her Tuesday night. She revealed all this to him when he asked what she had been up to. 

"Well, that's good, darlin'," he said. "At least you'll have some nice folks workin' wit ya on assignments. I'm glad yer company's finally takin' some steps to create a functional business environment."

"If we hadn't fired those preachy pro-spanking yahoos, I would've had a complete meltdown," Valerie agreed. "God, but I hate conservative people who refuse to educate themselves on those who are different. I suppose Mace told you about what happened with his family." She then suddenly thought of such people in Sundown's own family. "And speaking of which…"

"Yeah, Chuck's here fer a few days on business," Sundown answered while rolling his eyes. "He's stayin' at my place."

"Actually, I've been thinking about him with every thought of you, Sundown," she said. "I'm hoping this doesn't sound rude, but I don't have anything to do tonight."

"I was reckonin' maybe you should come over here to meet him," Sundown said. "I really want him to adjust to you."

Valerie looked at Jeremy in the dining room, making a macaroni picture with glue. "What about Jeremy. You know his nine o'clock bedtime, and it's a school night."

"Oh yeah, yer right." Sundown thought quickly, then, "I reckon you'd better leave him with yer sister. Karen, is it? Better call her to explain what's goin' on."

"Right. So I'll see you in twenty minutes?"

"I reckon you can make it here in that time."

She agreed, said goodbye, then made a quick call to Karen. She looked thankful that her sister answered, and explained her call with Sundown, the invitation to his place. "Can you look after Jeremy for a few hours? I don't know how long I'm going to be, and you know he has school in the morning."

"You know I'd be happy to look after him," she said. "Why don't you bring him over?"

When she hung up, Valerie went to pack Jeremy's pajamas and bedtime needs. She put his art homework in with it, and got him ready to leave. At her sister's house, Karen instructed her, "If you're going to be out past eleven, I want you to call me."

"Just like Mom was when I was sixteen," Valerie sighed. She noted Karen's serious glower and said, "Yes, Karen, I promise I'll call. I have my cell with me." She kissed Jeremy goodbye, then left in a rush. She didn't know how Sundown was with women who were late, but she hoped she could get there in fifteen minutes.

Meanwhile, at the apartment, Sundown was lecturing his brother about Valerie.

"Now, I don't want ya sayin' nothin' to upset her, ya hear?" he demanded. "Ya treat her like the lady she is, an' don't you dare talk nasty 'bout her parentin' Jeremy. She's put up wit enough of that bull! I seriously reckon you oughta accept her special methods."

"Sundown, I fully intend to tell her how unfair she's bein' wit that kid!" Chuck responded. "I believe young Jeremy truly wants to be put on the same level as normal kids, same consequences fer various actions, the whole bit."

"And what rules should she lay down fer him, hmm?" Sundown asked. "You realize there's only a small handful of those he can understand!"

Minutes later, they heard the doorbell buzz. Sundown looked through his peephole and saw Valerie. He kissed her as he let her inside.

"My darlin'," he said. "So glad that yer here."

She looked at the man sitting on Sundown's sofa and said solemnly, "This must be your brother, Chuck." As Sundown introduced her to Chuck, Valerie debated whether or not to shake Chuck's hand, the "spineless idiot" comment Sundown had mentioned coming back to her. She decided not to, and sat in the sheriff's easychair instead.

"Why doncha start up some conversation, while I brew up some coffee?" Sundown suggested. Chuck watched him leave into the kitchen, then looked at Valerie. She looked nervous, yet eager.

"So, Valerie," Chuck said, "Sundown tells me yer in advertisin'. Mama's shown me that ice cream ad in one of her magazines. Lemme tell ya right now, I'd never do that to any of my kids."

"And I'll bet you have every right to make that decision," Valerie replied, trying not to sound nervous. _But you had no right to mistreat my son the way you did at dinner that one time!_

"You needn't tell me 'bout all yer career achievements," Chuck said. "But I am curious as to what's goin' on in yer work right now."

"Nothing much with me, really," she answered. "We're going through a big interviewing process right now, replacing five employees that got fired last month. I'm sitting in on it all, so I really don't have any projects I'm currently working on." This prompted her to tell her story about the Shaken Baby Syndrome assignment that caused it all. Sundown had returned with the coffee by the time she was finished.

Chuck didn't look impressed at all. "No offense, Valerie," he said, "but doncha reckon those good people were tryin' to tell ya somethin' when they were screamin' an' whackin' yer boy, an' criticizin' yer failure to do that on yer own?"

Valerie nearly dropped her mug. "Excuse me, but you were at your parents' house with Sundown and Jeremy for dinner that day," she reminded him. "Didn't you see how he was moving his head around in the time you were there before dinner?"

"Yeah, an' Sundown an' Lynette were endlessly remindin' me to let him do it, he'd stop gradually," Chuck said. He drank some of his coffee for a few seconds. "I really wanted to grab his head physically an' make him stop. I believe that's the only way to get across that such behavior won't be tolerated."

Valerie started to respond, but he thought she was going to protest, so he continued, "An' the way he babbled on to the rhythm of the TV while Sundown, Lynette, Gloria an' I tried to make conversation. I gather he does all this in public as well as private. All those people around you starin' an' pointin' an' laughin', reckonin' how weird he is. I'm sorry, but I don't like to be embarrassed like that. I'd smack my kids if I went through that wit _them_."

Sundown was starting to get annoyed. "Dammit, Chuck!" he exploded. "It's the weak neck muscles an' excessive brain damage that cause him to do all that! Don't ya pay attention to anythin' I tell ya?"

Chuck looked peeved at him. "Well, I'm sorry, Sundown, but I gotta git this out!" He turned back to Valerie. "Valerie, I have my own business in Dallas, developin' computer software an' various conveniences fer electronic gizmos. If you were workin' fer me, an' you brought yer son to work, an' he started actin' like that, no way would I support yer decision to not whack him! I can hardly believe that _yer_ bosses are! I can understand why those parents you were workin' wit were gettin' all frustrated. To let Jeremy git away wit all that, then blame it on his syndrome, that's weak, lazy, an' as we like to say in Texas, backslidin' parentin'. I would've definitely called ya into my office fer some strong words if I received enough complaints from the parents among my staff!"

"Mama an' Dad were understandin' enough to tolerate it," Sundown reminded him.

"To which I was very surprised, Sundown!" Chuck shifted himself so he was facing Valerie more. "Back when Sundown, Lynette an' I were growin' up, we had a long list of daily chores we were expected to do before an' after school, and were told not to act so loud an' rowdy. Mama an' Daddy were quick wit the paddle on us if we did a half-assed job on any chore, large or small, or if we made too much noise – an' even a moderate amount was too much – or broke any of their other rules. Sundown and I got hit most often, an' look where we are today 'cuz of it. I'm company president, an' he's been Texas sheriff fer years!"

Valerie buried her face in her hands, and shook her head. "God, not this again!" she moaned. "I feel like I'm having déjà vu. This is my visit with Mace's family, round two!"

Sundown touched his brother's shoulder moderately rough. "Big brother, that's probably enough," he said lowly.

But Chuck ignored him. "When our parents were so acceptin' of this from Jeremy, I really wanted to believe they were slippin' in their ol' age. But apparently, they believe that Jeremy an' his ilk should be treated differently from those non-disabled, non-retarded kids. That's a terrible disservice fer young Jeremy. As much as they don't understand, kids actually want things like rules, limitations an' boundaries, an' lots of household chores an' responsibilities to keep 'em occupied an' outta trouble. They want their parents to discipline 'em harsh whenever they make mistakes, so they learn right from wrong in a hurry. The physically an' mentally disabled ain't any different. An' here you are, claimin' yer kid can't understand most rules or do most chores, an' harsh discipline an' consequences stress him out."

"That's all true of Jeremy!" Valerie nearly screamed. She quickly remembered where she was, so she lowered her voice, but was still emotional. "Look, I don't have to remind you how he'd cry and scream whenever Tom yelled and beat him, now do I? How he'd cry at school whenever he heard teachers yelling? He scares easily, you know. God, he can't even communicate his feelings when he's this way! And he's too clumsy to do any chores! It took a long time for him to learn to walk, and when he does, I nearly have to hold his hand, or he'll bump into walls. I worry about him falling when I see him running. And his arms are too short for his body. You think I'm going to give a kid like that lots of chores? If you ask me, I think his physical and mental state took care of the 'limitations and boundaries' thing for me!" She took a long drink of her coffee.

"Valerie's decision to not whip him is reasonably sound!" Sundown insisted. "Mama an' Dad even said so! An' don't ya go tellin' me that you reckon her ex-husband is the better parent!" He started explaining the incident where Tom came to Empire City and tried to kidnap Jeremy. But Chuck still wasn't fazed.

"Sundown, as far as I'm concerned, this Tom seemed to be better suited to care fer Jeremy." he told him. "I can't believe you an' that Highway man shot him dead!" Valerie looked horrified, but the elder Calhoun brother asked her, "Valerie, who was the main provider in the household? I gather it was him."

She nodded, her frustration increasing. "I also worked outside the home, yet he wouldn't let me contribute to the household finances," she lamented. "That's financial abuse, you know. I suppose next, you're going to tell me how the man should be the one in charge of the family finances, while the woman is expected to just sit back!"

"It's the man's job to be the main breadwinner in the family, and to buy all the necessities," Chuck explained coolly.

"And where does that leave single moms like me!" Valerie nearly exploded again. "Or how about women whose husbands aren't loaded?" She looked hotly at her boyfriend. "Sundown, you never told me what a sexist Neanderthal pig your brother is!"

"My point, Valerie," Chuck said, peeved, "is that Tom Boston was the main provider of yer ol' household, therefore, he should use punitive measures on yer son if he sees fit. He obviously reckons that disabilities should not be used as an excuse to respond in kind to bad behaviors. I agree wit this completely. As his wife, you should've been cognizant of this, an' acted as his teammate on this. It ain't no wonder he walked out on ya."

Valerie was now so infuriated, she gulped the rest of her coffee and slammed her mug on the table. "Okay, let's get some things straight!" she barked. "One, I was the one who filed for divorce first after I packed up all my shit and moved with Jeremy into a hotel room! _That's_ how badly I wanted to be away from him! Two, if you saw how Tom behaved in that courtroom, you would've understood the judge's decision to grant sole custody of Jeremy to me! Three, not even my parents would spank or berate Jeremy, because most of my family understands that certain actions are beyond Jeremy's control! Which brings me to number four – what expert on Shaken Baby Syndrome would recommend even spanking on the buttocks to parents of these children? Do you get it, Chuck? Is any of this making sense?"

Sundown went up to her and held her hand, hoping it would calm her down. He was getting angrier with his brother, too.

"Well, I don't know 'bout yer neck of the woods," Chuck replied, "but down in the South an' out West, special needs parents prefer to draw their own conclusions, as opposed to relyin' solely on doctor's advice. More often than not, they decide that spankin' an' paddlin' will help make their kid learn. My wife, Gloria, seems to reckon so. Does yer brain even work like that?"

Valerie got up so fast and screamed, "Fuck, how does Gloria put up you! Is she your little submissive who goes along with everything you say!"

But Sundown quickly restrained her and suggested, "Honey, what say you an' me go somewhere where we can be alone?"

"Good idea!" she spat, and hurried for the door. "I'll be waiting outside!"

After she slammed, she could overhear the brothers' muffled yellings. Nearly two minutes later, Sundown joined her. "C'mon, my lady," he said. "I know a place we can go to."

They went to the King Empire Airport area of town, where there were plenty of cheap hotels. They found a quaint little place called Double Wide Lodge, and asked about renting a room.

"It's perhaps fer a few hours," Sundown said as he retrieved his credit card. "Maybe the whole night. My brother's in town fer a few days, an' we just came to escape an argument that was upsettin' the lady here."

Valerie had a thought, and jotted down her address, and description of her briefcase and laptop bag, on a small notepad. "In case it's the whole night," she added, "could you please have one of your staff go to the address and pick up the items described here? I have work in the morning." She retrieved and lended her house key.

In their room, Valerie lay down on the bed, trying to get comfortable. She looked at the TV in front of her, wondering if she should turn it on. She soon decided not to when Sundown climbed on next to her, and held her, kissing her softly.

"Y'all right, darlin'?" he asked. "Look, I'm awfully sorry 'bout my brother. He still won't take back how he treated Jeremy those coupla months back."

"I could see he wasn't going to," she replied. "Special needs parents in the South like to draw their own conclusions about their children, yeah right! I don't think they should, unless they're willing to understand how these children react to different consequences."

"I should maybe call my parents an' tell 'em what happened." He reached for the telephone, but she stopped him.

"Not tonight, okay?" she said. "It's a wonderful evening, we're all alone, let's just enjoy it." She kissed his mouth three times and drew herself closer to him.

He left the bed for the TV, picked up the remote. "Let's see what movies are on here. I reckon we can find a nice western romance fer the two of us." When Sundown clicked on, he saw the opening credits of a movie that looked familiar to him. He stood there for ten minutes, before he could figure out what it was – _Deputy Wildheart_.

"Ah, ya remember this one, Valerie?" he asked.

"I do," she said. "You tried to hit on me during this one, with your sexy bartender lines."

"I tried makin' magic during this one, an' I did," he reminded her. "I wanna see if I can do it again." He touched her cheek gently and kissed her for a minute.

"So, Sundown," Valerie began, "you want to go back to your place after this, or do you want to stay the whole night?"

"I reckon we should stay the whole night," Sundown answered. "Give Chuck a chance to cool off his hot head."

She took out her cell phone. "Then I'll have to call Karen." She dialed her sister's number, and when she heard her, she told her where she and Sundown were.

"There's been yet another heated argument with Sundown's damn brother about Jeremy's best interests, as if he knows them better than I do!" she complained. She rolled her eyes. "Listen, we plan to leave here tomorrow morning, and I think Sundown wants to take me straight to work. Could you maybe find a place for Jeremy to sleep, and get him ready for school in the morning. You may have to go to my house quickly for his knapsack."

She heard Karen sigh, then say, "Why don't you just bring Sundown back to your place? Or bring him over here for drinks, at least."

"It's called 'time to ourselves.' You and Bart should look into it."

Karen sighed again. "This is practically the craziest thing you've done for love."

"This is better than hiding my men in my house all the time, other than banging at their places," Valerie argued. "Listen, if you leave now, you'll probably meet someone from this hotel in a few minutes, so they'll open the door for you. I also sent out for my work luggage."

"Fine, but honestly, I've never seen you pull this stunt before. Talk to you later."

Valerie hung up and began concentrating on the movie. Her arms were around Sundown; her head was rested on his chest. Around twenty minutes later, they heard a knock. Valerie smiled and crawled off the bed, opened her purse for her wallet.

"Must be my stuff for tomorrow," she said.

She was happy to see her briefcase and laptop bag. She took them, and paid ten dollars for the service. She placed them next to the TV, flipped the door sign to _Do Not Disturb_ and closed it, rejoined Sundown on the bed.

When the movie was over, Sundown turned off the TV, and he and Valerie snuggled. She thought of his family again and asked, "So, you think you may stop speaking to your brother for awhile after he leaves."

"I dunno," he answered. "Maybe I'll call Mama when he goes and relay it all. I hope she'll be able to whip him at the next Sunday dinner." He brought her face closer to his. "I really gotta have ya, Valerie. I mean it. I look at you, and see nothin' but a jewel. Oh, but could a face like that ever be more beautiful? Could a figure like that be more attractive?"

They started making out, then Sundown took off his ten-gallon hat and hung it on the bedpost. "Oh, Valerie," he said in between kisses, "yer so beautiful, so priceless. I'd give up my life to be yer husband. I just know I'd be a thousand times the man Tom ever was. Please never ferget how close Jeremy an' I got over the summer."

She just smiled and touched his face lightly. But to him, it just wasn't enough. "Oh, Valerie, tell me how else I can convince ya to pick me over the others. The last time I talked to my family before Chuck came, my parents were tellin' me how badly they wanna see the two of us married."

"That depends," she said. "Would Gloria and Chuck be willing to be a loving aunt and uncle to Jeremy?"

"Mama said she an' Dad would edit them outta their wills if they didn't."

"So you're willing to sacrifice family ties for me? Sundown, you just may be the sweetest one in the whole competition. I love you."

"Which you can end right now just by sayin' ya wanna be wit me fer the rest of yer life." He kissed her sensually until they found themselves lying down.

Then suddenly, Sundown excused himself and went to the washroom. Valerie heard the shower running, so she stripped to her bra and panties and turned on her side facing the wall behind the washroom. She was tossing her hair around, teasing it with her fingers.

Within ten minutes, Sundown came out to her, soaking wet and wearing nothing but a pair of black briefs. He looked really desperate, and climbed back onto the bed without a word. He wrapped himself around her so he was holding her tight like a child to a teddy bear. They were then frolicking around the quilt in various compromising positions, changing every five seconds or less, they were moving so fast. He was kissing her lips, chin and shoulders, but resorted to biting her neck and cleavage. Valerie was screaming out like a howling wolf every time he bit her.

"Oh, Sundown!" she yelled out. "Sundown, slow down!" He stopped and looked at her confused and worried, wondering what he did wrong. She gently pushed him down and took his control.

"At least give me the chance to put some moves on you," she wheedled. She proceeded to kiss him all over his chest and belly, and lick his chest hair as she purred. He turned over and sat up, and she decided to sexually massage his shoulders, then knead her fingers up and down his back. When he could no longer feel her touch, he turned to her and removed her underclothes, then his.

He laid her back down and whispered in her ear, "I promise I won't hurt ya." He then injected himself into her, and Valerie bared her teeth and breathed hard as she fought the pain. He decided to take it away through a tender kiss.

She broke away and whispered, "Do you want to get under the covers now?"

Sundown removed himself from her temporarily to pull the quilt and bedsheets back. Valerie crawled underneath, then he got back on top of her as he tucked them in. He put himself back into her, and again, she tried to fight the pain. Again, he took it away by kissing her and breathing heavily on her neck, as they rolled back and forth in their passion.

* * *

Two evenings later, she was doing regular Internet surfing on her home computer when the phone rang. She went to the kitchen and made a horrifying discovery – Mace was calling her. 

She was too timid to answer, so she let her answering machine take it. After the message she heard Mace pleading, "Valerie! Valerie, it's Mace. Listen, these past five days, all I ever did was think of you, and now ya won't even answer yer phone. Why can't ya talk to me? I'm sorry about my family on Saturday, but I thought you'd still be there fer me–"

She forced herself to pick up the phone, and saw Mace nearly crying on the video screen. "Valerie!" he said. "Valerie, what's wrong? I haven't heard from ya since the fling at my parents' house, an' I just worked up this courage to call ya. Why wouldn't ya call me all this time? You still upset at what Dad an' Joanne did? I still love you, Valerie. You can't let this end like this."

"Mace, I… I…" But she couldn't even say it. Instead she just broke down, the horrid memories of the Howards family coming back – the fighting, the bullying, the criticism, the spanking. She was sobbing too loud to even speak, yet she was able to.

"Mace, I'm sorry!" she wailed. "I can't even discuss this! Not here!" She hung up and continued to cry, as the haunting family continued to overtake her conscience. She was so distraught, and she went to her bedroom to cry. As she passed the master bathroom, however, she looked inside and stared at the bathtub. She decided to try taking a hot bath.

Amidst the heat and bubbles, the soap lathering on her body, she immediately felt the memories disappearing. _If only someone else would call and ask me out_, she thought._ God, but other than Jeremy, I'm so lonely tonight._

Suddenly, she heard the phone ring again. She got up and out and wrapped herself with a towel quickly. She walked quickly to the kitchen to see Barricade was calling. She was so impressed to see _his_ face on the screen.

He looked surprised at what she was wearing. "Valerie!" he said. "Hope I wasn't interrupting anything too important."

"Nothing all that important," she said. "Just decided to have a relaxing bath so I don't stress out tomorrow." She knew that last part was a lie, but she didn't feel like talking about Mace's call.

"Well, I go back on duty in thirty minutes, but I happen to be free tomorrow night," Barricade informed her. "I just called to ask if you wanted to go out."

"You know I'd love to." Valerie answered. That invitation made her forget the rest of Howards family experience.

* * *

The next evening, after dropping Jeremy off at the O'Malley's for the night, Barricade and Valerie went to dinner at the Manifesta Hotel. There, she shared some more stories of positive and negative interviews with him. 

She was cringing as she explained her worst interview of the day. "Our first one was with Caroline Mullray. I swear, she must've heard stories about me from Donna or Linda, either one of those two, I'm guessing. She came into the office just glowering, and I could tell she was staring _right at me_. Right away, she insisted on starting off by saying she did _not_ approve of my parenting skills. Something told me to tell the boss to reject her right away, but Sussex went through with the interview. But I was just so timid throughout; her looks kept sending me red flags."

She sipped some of her tea. "So the first part of the interview went normally – she grew up an army bitch, has three athletic brothers and competitive drive and spirit, excelled in the university's business program, led three projects that got government recognition, she's outgoing, hard-working, quick with deadlines, and blah, blah, blah. Then comes part two of the interview, and she turns into a total bitch. When she saw the Ice Cream Puffs ad, get this, she accused me of trying to turn Jeremy into a child celebrity. I told her, 'I don't think Jeremy's has the first thing needed to make it in Hollywood.' She said I was whoring him out, and had the audacity to tell Mr. Sussex that nepotism of any kind should be discouraged in the company. Then, at the awareness commercial, not only did she say Jeremy deserved to be beaten by Tom, he should've also gotten custody.

"I just wanted to leap across the desk and beat the shit out of her. I said, 'How can you even say that someone like Jeremy deserved to be beaten like that? I'll bet you don't have and never wanted children!' She has three children whom she claims are just as wild as Donna's, and perhaps Michael's. She says that I've made it sound like Jeremy can't learn anything, and that he would if I 'pound his head' once in awhile. She brags about how she and her husband of seventeen years are a team, and that their thinking alike on discipline and child-raising is what keeps their marriage strong. Then, all this crap about how beating retarded children is beneficial for them, and that her husband researched it all, then she hands me and Sussex this twelve-page document. Three pages into it, we couldn't accept it. It looked like a bunch of fake 'evidence' that they and some other frustrated parents put together to try and get their word across. I told her this and she said, get this, that Tom and I should've killed Jeremy years ago, put him out of his misery, if I refused to discipline him. Thank God Sussex gave her the same shit lecture he gave Bulletproof's damn sister!"

Soon, their food arrived, and Valerie stared talking about a nicer interview. "After lunch, a younger woman named Jill Watterson came for an interview. She said she saw my _Eye on Empire City _interview, and felt so bad for me. She said I had no right to be mistreated in that fashion, and the doctors were spot on about special methods." She had two forkfuls of spaghetti.

"What did she say about those people who got fired?" Barricade asked.

"That 'those bitches had it coming,'" Valerie grinned. "Jill used to be a pediatric nurse in a Philadelphia hospital for a few years until she was laid off – she felt she needed a change of career. She's worked with a lot of children left physically and mentally disabled through Fetal Alcohol and Shaken Baby Syndromes. Some kids couldn't even walk or talk at all, never mind do it like Jeremy. She believes me when I said it's hard to discipline kids like that; she claims her charges can't even show people that they want it, can't communicate it to them." She speared a meatball in half and ate it. "Jill's a recent graduate of the advertising arts program at the Emperor Business Collegiate – I heard that's one of the best schools ever. It's said ninety percent of graduating students find jobs in their chosen field almost immediately. Lancer and Sussex certainly loves it. And Jill got her degree in only nine months."

"I'm sure she'll be a welcome asset to your business," Barricade told her.

"We have her on the hiring list," Valerie replied.

Through dinner, a movie, and dancing at another nightclub, the Supernova, Barricade and Valerie didn't get back to her house until half past midnight. He'd thought about going home himself after dropping her off. But when he attempted to kiss her goodnight, he looked at her face, and saw there was still some energy and life in it for the evening, the way she smiled at him. He realized she didn't want the night to end… and neither did he.

"Want to come in for something to drink?" she offered. "You can at least keep me company." He nodded in acceptance.

Over coffee, they talked about Bowzer and Mace's dropouts from the competition. The mere mention of Mace had Valerie reeling about his family.

"I just hope _your_ family isn't half as conservative or critical of people's 'shortcomings' as Mace's is," she said. She realized she didn't know anything about Barricade's family yet. "Uh, Barricade, I know I should've asked you this a few months ago, but can you tell me about your family?" She was already kicking herself for not bringing this up with Bowzer or Highway.

He coughed a little. "As I told you before, I only have my mother, and she lives in Phoenix. My father died while I was still in college. I am the eldest of twelve children, and school-day mornings were pretty hectic in the house where we all grew up. So it was my responsibility to help my mother maintain order when her patience grew thin, to keep her and Dad's tempers from going through the roof. That's where I learned to keep my cool in the toughest situations. To this day, Mom still demands to know how I did it."

"You're not going to tell me the life stories of all your siblings, are you?" Valerie said.

"No, then we'd be here all night; they're all scattered all over the country, and many of them have families of my own," Barricade replied. "Some are married, some are divorced, the rest are single. But here's something that'll interest you – three of them are involved with advertising careers, my sisters Colleen and Julie, and my brother Keith."

"Maybe in the morning, I'll look for Lancer or Sussex's business cards," Valerie said. "If we need three more positions to fill, tell them to send their résumés and come to Empire City… um, any siblings living here, by any chance?"

"Only one my youngest sisters, Trish, and she's a hotel maid at the Manifesta. Too bad she was probably off duty tonight. I would've loved to introduce you to her."

"I can picture Thanksgiving and Christmas with your family." Valerie was laughing at the thought of about twenty nieces and nephews fighting over food and drinks and gifts, and their parents constantly yelling. "I'd love to help you maintain household order at those times. Unless, of course, you have a holiday system."

"We do. But maybe we can discuss it over breakfast tomorrow?"

"So you want this to go all night, too?" Enthralled, Valerie went over to Barricade then and kissed him. "I can arrange that easily."

"Let's finish our coffee," Barricade said.

They finished quickly, then she approached him and started kissing again. They were making out all the way from the dining room to her bedroom, Valerie turning out all the lights on the way. When they got past the master bathroom, they started taking each other's clothes off. Barricade took off her blouse and threw it across the hall. Valerie unbuttoned and removed his dress shirt so it fell to the floor. He unhooked her bra, but never removed it, and she ripped off his T-shirt.

In her bedroom light, Barricade noticed the blue bouquet he gave her on her dresser. He smiled and said, "Does this mean you want to be with me for life?"

She grinned and purred like a Siamese kitten. "We'll see about that, you sexy, sexy man."

She turned out the light, and they kept making out until they fell upon her bed. In their sexual passion, they struggled to take the rest of their clothes off. One skirt, a pair of pants, socks and underwear all met the floor. They were touching each other all over their bodies, but Valerie's contact felt rougher, as she was groping, kneading and licking his chest. Other than those times when she went lower, his mouth never left her lips. Otherwise, he was playfully running his fingers through her hair. They were bouncing and rolling all over the bed as they rose, turned and fell. Finally, he playfully pushed her down, opened her legs, put himself into her.

"Oh, Barricade!" she called out. "_Oh, Barricade!_ Oh, you don't know how wonderful you make me feel. Oh, please don't take it out! Oh, please! You've got to do me more."

Barricade cupped his hands on Valerie's breasts, and rubbed them in a circular motion. After several minutes, his hands went lower to massage her stomach. As he was doing this, he was saying, "Oh, Valerie, you know you can't keep me hanging on like this much longer, can you? Can you! Both you and I know that I'm the one you must choose for your husband. I love you. I love your son. And you know my calm, cool, collected nature is exactly what you'll be desiring, after the hellish marriage you had."

He put his arms around her and brought up towards him. "You give me one good reason why I don't deserve you. And as you're lying here with me, you can't think of even one. Well, let me tell you, in the four months you've known me, I've done and said everything to let you and your family know that I _do_ deserve you. You know I'm a thousand times the man Tom ever was, and if you love me enough to pick me, I promise I'll keep on proving that."

He kissed her even more lustrous than before, all over her lips and cheeks. "You'll never be unhappy and crying, and looking for love anymore with me, Valerie. I guarantee it!"

They fell upon the pillows, and she started kissing him back. She put his arms around him, and let her hands explore his back.

* * *

After Valerie picked up Jeremy, and Barricade left, she started to ponder on who to finally choose. She thought about all the good times she had with Highway, Sundown and Barricade all that week. She loved the sex from all of them, but Highway seemed a little despairing for her. Sundown and Barricade, however, were so sweet and trustworthy, and both seemed like men who would follow through on their promises. Barricade especially, with the calm, cool personality he displays on the job, sounded exactly like the ideal husband for her, the ideal stepfather for Jeremy. 

After all that thinking, she still couldn't come to a decision. She called her mother and said, "It's about the C.O.P.S. I think it's time I decided which one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But I'm absolutely torn. I think we should talk. Can you come over?"

Twenty minutes later, Polly showed up, and Valerie relayed what had happened between her and the three remaining C.O.P.S. "All three of them sound so ideal," she told her mother. "I just can't make up my mind."

"Valerie, it would've helped if you'd brought your boyfriends over to visit more often," Polly said, "rather than just hiding them in your house."

"That's the same thing Karen said when I told her I was staying with Sundown all Tuesday night," Valerie sighed.

"I know we don't invite you over often," Polly replied, "but it would have been easier for us to help you if we could've interacted with them more."

Then a thought came to her. "Oh, what am I saying? I think my memory may be starting to slip. I guess one need only look at how they acted at your birthday party and the family reunion."

She gave a warm smile, as if she knew who she wanted right away. "Well, if you want a mother's advice, I'd go with Barricade. Sundown runs a close – very close – second. Let's start with your birthday. If memory serves me well, both Barricade and Sundown could easily express how they felt about you and why they deserved you. I swear I fell in love with them both. With Highway, he mentioned a promise that he would love you and Jeremy faithfully, and how he could make you happy. But he could never express why he fell in love with you to begin with, or even what he saw in you. Not even when I prompted him at the Saturday dinner picnic at the reunion. However, between the other two, it was Barricade who mentioned that he had clicked with Jeremy the easiest, and perhaps the earliest of them all. Now that I think about it, I have to dock points off Sundown for telling us all about the abuse and dysfunction he saw in his homeland. Although I understood his feelings about Tom, would that be something you'd tell your boyfriend's family if _you_ were a police officer?"

Valerie thought about it, then said, "I probably wouldn't in front of a group of relatives in the living room. Maybe if I took them somewhere private, like outside."

"Now, let's cut to the reunion," Polly said. "During Sunday's picnic lunch, I asked Barricade and Highway, as well as Mace, about their responsibilities and personalities attaining to the C.O.P.S. team. God, it would've helped if Sundown were there as well. But anyway, it was Barricade's answer that impressed me most of all. He has this calming approach to criminal situations, and absolutely believes in negotiations. He shared with the family his belief about how there's always a non-violent way to resolve a conflict, whether it's apprehending criminals or fighting within a family. Lord, but I still can't believe Laura whacked him like that, and snapped at him to shut up!"

"That's Laura for you," Valerie laughed, "obsessed with strict discipline and shows no patience when angry with youths. If she weren't married, I think she'd be almost perfect for Mace." When she stopped laughing, "I know about Barricade's calmness, coolness and collective behavior, Mom. He told me about when he was telling me about how he grew up. I have to tell you that he comes from a very large family. Twelve children. It's like that movie, _Cheaper by the Dozen_."

"And that's exactly what would make Barricade the perfect one for you," Polly stated. "He is everything that Tom never was, especially with Jeremy. Despite his two-week trip with Sundown, I'm confident that Jeremy would love Barricade a lot more. Together, the two of you could show that patience can be a virtue when it comes to parenting. It's a shame that this issue destroyed your chances with Mace, that disaster with his family. That said, I really don't think you'd be able to get along well with Sundown's brother, either. As much as the rest of the family fell for you as you claim, I think they'd be more interested in keeping their family ties with this Chuck." She laughed really hard at another thought. "Besides, I think Sundown would be pretty frustrated that he can't show Jeremy how to lasso, and that Jeremy can't ride a horse by himself."

Valerie started laughing along with her. After a few moments, "Thank you so much, Mom. You're right. Now I'll know what to tell them."

Suddenly, Jeremy approached his mother and asked, "Mom,… is it… okay… if… I have… some… ice… cream?"

She looked at her mother and asked, "Uh, Mom, would you mind looking after Jeremy for a few moments? I have to make an important visit to C.O.P.S. headquarters."

"Of course," Polly replied.

Valerie told her son where she was going and said, "Be good for Grandma, okay? I'll be back soon." She left quickly.

* * *

Meanwhile, at C.O.P.S headquarters, having busted yet another caper by Big Boss and his gang, Barricade, Sundown, Highway and Mace were all talking about Valerie and their competition. 

"I guess it's down to you three now," Mace said. "She was so emotional when I called her Thursday. I'm takin' it as another sign that it's over."

"I don't know how much more of this I can take," Highway said. "if it were me juggling three women for this long, they be demanding that I choose one now, or I'd lose them all."

"Then I reckon we go up to her an' demand she make a choice," Sundown declared.

"Right, but we can't let this come between any of us," Barricade told them. "This would be a terrible reason for the C.O.P.S. team to break up. So whomever she chooses, the other ones cannot be mad at each other – or at her." Everyone agreed on it.

They were on their way out of the building to get her, when Valerie had just came in. She noticed concerned looks from all of them. She said, "I think I can tell what this is about."

The C.O.P.S. led her into the interviewing room for some privacy, and sat her down in the chair usually reserved for suspects. Barricade and Highway took the two remaining chairs, while Mace and Sundown deactivated the sounding system and stood there.

"We've decided that it's time to hear your decision," Highway began. "We know that after four months of dating around like this, we can't take anymore. _You_ probably can't take anymore."

"We made a pact that whoever you decide on, we won't be mad at you, or each other," Barricade added. "But we need to know."

Valerie smiled weakly and replied, "First off, to the ones I don't choose, I'd like to say thank you for coming into mine and Jeremy's lives, and uplifting our spirits. We were never this happy when we lived with Tom in Parrish. And I wish you the best of luck in finding loves of your own. I decided on the way here that you'd all make wonderful husbands, and none of you deserve to be lonely." All the C.O.P.S smiled back at her.

She turned to Mace, "That said, Mace, I still can't get over what happened when we visited your parents. That's why I choked when you called me. It may take me a long time to recover. Because of that, I'm now absolutely repulsed by overly conservative people like your parents and sisters. And our relationship will be doomed if I can't get along with your family. So I'm sorry, but it can't be you."

Mace became so angry and stomped his foot repeatedly. "I knew it!" he bellowed. "I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! First thing when I get home, I'm tellin' Mom that I won't be at that house for Thanksgivin' or Christmas. An' I'm tellin' Joanne off!"

Barricade got up to calm and restrain him.

She looked at Barricade, Sundown and Highway. "Now to you three. Before I came here, I had a talk with my mother about you guys, and she's already decided against one." She looked at Highway. "Highway, Mom told me about the promise you made to her at my birthday party, to keep me and Jeremy happy. But unlike the other three, you couldn't really tell her what you loved about me, why you loved me."

"Aw, Valerie, do I really have to say it?" he protested. "You're a beautiful, vibrant woman with a creative mind and a loving, bubbly personality. And I think you're a terrific mother. You remember when I held you when I brought Jeremy back from the waterslides to hear you crying, and you said it was a group of co-workers bad-mouthing the way you reared Jeremy?"

"Then why couldn't you say it?" Valerie asked. "Mom said she couldn't get that out of you at the reunion."

"I was trying to let her get to know me, like all the others were," Highway said. "I thought that once she did, she'd be able to see that in my heart."

"Oh, that was so sweet of you to say that" she replied, "but unfortunately, nobody in my family is a mind reader or 'heart reader,' per se. And I know you love me now, but the way my mother sees it, you could go from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde almost as soon as we're engaged or married. And that happened once with Tom; my family won't let me go through that again." She put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Highway. But I'm sure you can have your pick of any other woman in the city – including Mainframe and Mirage."

"Aw, they're not the least bit interested in me. No woman on the force is." He got up and went to join Mace in disappointment. This had Sundown sitting in his place with Barricade.

Valerie smiled at them. "Now, down to you two. I have some very good news for both of you. Thinking again about my birthday party, Mom said some very nice things about you. From what she told me, she believes in your sincerity towards me, and that you love me very much. Unfortunately, Sundown, you lost points with her when you mentioned all the dysfunction you saw back in your native Texas. Apparently, there are certain things you don't tell senior ladies. Aunt Margaret didn't comment, but I'm sure she was quite put off by it, too."

Sundown looked absolutely peeved. "I reckoned what I told 'em 'bout that was appropriate, Valerie!" he insisted. "I was just explainin' how I was more of a man than Tom ever was."

"I know, but she didn't think so." She took a big breath. "Which brings me to what was brought up at the reunion. She told me she asked you guys about your personalities." She looked at Sundown, then Barricade. "Sundown, again, Mom was suddenly disappointed that you didn't come to the reunion, though deep down, I want to say that she was happy with you taking Jeremy on your trip. Barricade, she told me about your calming nature that impressed her, and I remember that speech you gave to her at dinner about there always being non-violent solutions to problems. She was so admired by you, I swear, it was as if she was trying to fix me up herself.

"She told me that your calming, cool, collective approach to things, in this job and in everyday life, would make you the ideal husband for me, and I agree that it's exactly what I'll need. So, Barricade, I choose you to be my life partner."

Sundown looked devastated, almost like he was ready to cry. Valerie noticed this and quickly went to give him a comforting hug. She was relieved when he held her back.

"I'm terribly sorry for breaking your heart like this," she said softly. "Looking at you and Barricade, I was wishing I could have you both." She took off his hat to run her fingers through his hair. "But don't cry. I'm sure there are plenty of Texas-bred women here in Empire City. From the ways you've charmed me, it seems you could compete with Highway in winning anyone's love."

Sundown looked at her with tears in his eyes. "I'll try to git one, Valerie," he said. "But I don't reckon she'd ever compare to you." She touched his shoulder in a way that convinced him he probably could. Then she let go and went back to Barricade. They kissed for what seemed to be two minutes.

"You're probably still on duty here, aren't you?" she assumed. "When's you next free day? I'll invite and my whole family over for dinner."

She looked back and noticed all the rejected C.O.P.S. had left the interviewing room. "On second thought, let's discuss it in the main area." She took his hand and they left together, Valerie thinking of the wonderful future she'd have with her only man.

* * *

**A/N: **Wow, a lot of people to acknowledge this time around.

First off, thanks to skyefire for her continued support and reviews. If only there were more C.O.P.S. fans like you on this site, there'd be more material for this fandom.

Thanks to The Turbo Man (aka: Anthony Bannon) for his renowned interest in this show. Please pay particular attention to that bit of news mentioned above. It'll be a BIG help for your own project, which I look forward to seeing.

Thanks to retro mania, whoever you are, despite your only (short) review, for Chapter 25.

And thanks to buckyball (again, whoever you are.) Despite you harshness towards Bowzer in Chapter 24, I'm glad you're showing support for this too. If you've read Chapter 29, I hope you agree with this situation's outcome. Kicking Rex "Bowzer" Pointer off the C.O.P.S. team was **not** an option for me.

Finally, news about an inevitable sequel. I have one in mind, but I want to get ideas for other fandoms out of the way. I have a particular idea for a Class of the Titans fic, so I'm eager to get started. So I'm taking a break from this one. I need it anyway. Hope you enjoyed reading this as I've enjoyed writing it. And feel free to read my non-C.O.P.S. stories as well. See you later.


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